NYC Sentinel

By Lynsey Chutel

For 30 minutes on a chilly evening last week, the JumboTrons of Time Square beamed the images and stories of some of America’s homeless children taken in by Covenant House. Below the bright light of the screens, Covenant House held a vigil to raise awareness of the plight of more than a million homeless young people across the country. A crowd of employees, supporters and the young people who have found refuge at the shelter held up white candles cupped in blue plastic holders for all of Times Square to see.

Held on Nov. 5, the vigil took place across 22 cities, from Anchorage, Alaska, to Managua, Nicaragua. It was held as winter begins in the Northeast to remind the fortunate of the many children who call the streets their home.

“We do this so that the world will see our light and remember that we still have lots of work to do to build the world for all of our kids,” said Kevin Ryan, president of Covenant House International.

The candle-light vigil was no somber affair. In its 19th year, a stage was erected between West 44th and 43rd streets and the stars came out to attract a crowd. The event was hosted by television actress Karla Mosley. Broadway’s Alex Ko and Rita Harvey of “Billy Elliot” and “Phantom of the Opera” fame also made an appearance.

But it was the young people who live at Covenant House who turned Times Square into their stage. Angela Headley, 21, is one of the Covenant House performers who sang the finale of the evening, Jordin Sparks’ “One Step at a Time.” Headley beamed from the stage as she belted out the inspirational pop song.

Headley has lived at Covenant House with her 4-year-old son, Seku, for nearly a year. A bright little boy, whose name means “intelligent warrior” in the Bambara language of Mali, Seku has just started pre-kindergarten. Headley also started school this summer, studying to be a registered nurse at Hostos Community College. She said she is doing well, getting As thus far.

Headley had to move out of her family’s over-crowded apartment in Flatbush, Brooklyn. With seven people in a two-room apartment, Headley said her parents asked her to leave.

“They said, ‘You’re a grown-up, you have a son, you need to find a place of your own,’” Headly said.

Since 1969 Covenant House has provided shelter for homeless youths and run street outreach programs, vocational training and parenting classes. Today it is one of the largest organizations of its kind, helping 77,000 in 22 cities every year, according to Ryan.

“We give kids a second opportunity, a real second chance,” said Janette Scrozzo, who has been involved with Covenant House in Newark, N.J., since she was a teenager and is now its outreach manager and volunteer coordinator.

Donavan Vernon, 19, has dreams of becoming a playwright and is a classically trained pianist. Although he did not perform this evening, he is already working on his first musical, called the “Garden of Seven.” Vernon moved from Atlanta to New York City in search of Broadway. With no family or friends in town, he moved into the shelter.

Vernon shares a room with anywhere from two to five other people. Wearing a trendy coat that he found at Covenant House, Vernon describes the creature comforts he enjoys at the shelter, such as a warm bed and a washer and dryer and a place to go whenever he needs it.

“I’ve met people who have a genuineness about them,” he says, “people who really truly care.”