My name is Tiffany, but my family and friends call me Tiff. This is my son, RJ. I am 22 and I’m at Covenant House because I was evicted from my home. My old job let me go due to the fact they didn’t have maternity leave; they waited till my ninth month of pregnancy to tell me. Because of that I was unable to pay my rent, which caused me and my child to become homeless.

Being homeless made me very depressed. I even felt like I was less than a mother because I couldn’t provide shelter for my son. Covenant House helped uplift my spirit and made me feel like I had a second chance. Being on the streets can either break you or make you humble yourself toward life. If you are young and on the streets, I would tell you to pray and don’t give up hope because you can only go up when you are down. To the young adults not on the streets, make wise decisions in life so you can avoid being on the streets–it’s not fun and life will be harder on you.

I highly recommend Covenant House to other young troubled youth because I really think this place can put you back on the right track to a better life. Here you learn discipline and you get to clear your mind so you can think about your goals and where you are going. My goal is to find a career job with health benefits that can provide me and RJ a consistent, secure lifestyle. To reach my goals, I am going to challenge myself to do things I never thought I could do. I’m going to push myself forward and never look back.