“When talking to Eric – he came from a supportive, loving home like most of us and to see how deep into loneliness and desperation he got means it can happen to any one of us. It is not because he is less or different from us – in fact he is the same.”
In the evening we had a Zoom call with an Outreach worker from Covenant House and a youth worker, Eric who is an alumni of The Orchard Recovery Center. We sat around the fire and talked with the kids about addiction and recovery. This year the students slept on the ground, outside, 6 feet apart.
The main purpose of the program is to create empathy for youth that have circumstances different from what our own youth do. It is also important for our students to know that addiction and homelessness can happen to anyone at any time. There are resources to help turn that around and Covenant House is a great one that we are happy to support!
“I feel like this has made me more compassionate and open to talking about people’s issues with mental health, substance abuse, and emotional and physical abuse. Listening to Eric talk really made me want to help people. I want to learn more about the jobs at Covenant House because I see myself volunteering there in the future.”