Dear Friend(s),

Talk about coming full circle: twenty-five years ago my wife Ginny and I came to town to start a Covenant House for the homeless kids living on the streets of New Orleans.

We were newlyweds. Our startup office was the guest bedroom of our apartment. Our goal was to build a crisis shelter and transitional living program for abused, runaway and throwaway kids between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one. They were difficult financial times with the stock market having recently crashed and the oil industry having gone bust.

It did not seem to matter. Thanks to the prayers, support and love of so many we were able to get underway. We opened a drop-in center and started outreach on the street while Covenant House was under construction. Our mission drove us to be God’s hands and feet to these kids in crisis. The street was (and is today) no place for a child. These are teenagers who have been dealt a very bad hand. Some have been pushed out of homes that no longer want to be bothered with them, others have run away. They almost always come from abusive and dysfunctional homes. They are told early and often that they are no good, that they are stupid, and that they will never amount to anything.

What I knew then – and even more now – is that they are KIDS. Like all children, they desperately want to be liked, respected and, most importantly, loved. They are teenagers experiencing the most difficult years, even in the best of circumstances.

This past November, I was asked if I would consider coming back to Covenant House. Although I have worked in other ministries with the poor and vulnerable these past twenty years, I have always kept in touch with Covenant House. Most recently, I served on the national board of directors.

I initially declined. I really loved my work as Co-president of Catholic Charities in New Orleans. We had played a major role, post Katrina, in the recovery and rebuilding of southeast Louisiana, beginning with our early days in the Superdome.

Over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, Ginny and I started to pray about the opening at Covenant House. We wondered if this was what God was calling us to do -- to return to fulltime ministry with street kids. The more we prayed, the more we felt led to return.

Despite the multiple challenges, it is good to be home. God has brought us full circle for a reason. And, I can see that reason everyday in the face of our kids. Whether it is sharing a meal with Shanna, a twenty year old mother and her two children, or hearing about the eighteen month travels of Wade, a young kid who ran away at sixteen, no longer able to handle his mother’s drug addiction. I am grateful for the opportunity to welcome them, appreciate them, and encourage them to stick around – so we can help put their lives back together.

We are open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. We are committed to taking in every kid who comes through our doors – no questions asked. Some come for a few days and then, sadly, leave. They’re simply not ready to give up life on the street. Many others -- thankfully the majority -- we are able to return home, more often to extended family.

A third group of kids really want to turn their lives around but have no family options. For these kids, we help them develop an educational/vocational plan. We teach them basic life skills, including how to save for an apartment.

I met Quentin over a plate of red beans and rice. I liked him and his winning personality right away. He has a job working at night as a busboy at a restaurant in the French Quarter. He is anxious to move up, and become a waiter. He has even started saving money.

Two days later, I overheard Quentin scheduling a time on our computers so he could complete his FAFSA application. I must have heard wrong. Did he really say FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid)? Ginny and I had just submitted our daughter’s FAFSA forms to her college’s financial aid office.

"Quentin, did you say FAFSA?" I asked.

"Yes, Mr. Jim. I want to go to Delgado (the local community college) during the day - and still work at night. I have plenty of time and energy."

I want to thank you for your interest in Covenant House and our kids, like Quentin. In these difficult financial times we are, of course, continually struggling to make ends meet. Any way you can help us would mean a lot.

I ask, most importantly, for your prayers. I know that no matter how much we love these kids – that God loves them infinitely more.

Be assured of our prayers for you and your family each night.



James R. Kelly
Executive Director