History
Covenant House is the largest privately funded childcare agency in the United States providing shelter and
service to homeless and runaway youth. It was incorporated in New York City in 1972 and has
since expanded to more than 20 cities in the Canada, North and Central America. Covenant House
was called to Georgia when the leadership of Peachtree Presbyterian Church became troubled by the problem
of youth homelessness in the metropolitan Atlanta area. In 1997, Covenant House began to work
closely with other agencies and community development groups to assess the needs of the homeless and
at-risk youth of Atlanta. The clear message was that the Covenant House program was needed in
Atlanta. We opened our doors of the Community Service Center at 72 Broad Street on August 7,
2000. Through the years, our mission has remained constant – to give our youth the
unconditional love and respect they may have never felt, and to help them reach their potential.
Since opening the Community Service Center on Broad Street in August 2000 more than 6,000 young people
have walked through the doors looking for assistance with shelter, food, clothing, education and
employment. Every day, since our opening in Atlanta, young men and women have come to us in
search of crisis counseling, employment, a GED diploma or a safe place to sleep.
CHGA is currently seeing more than 100 kids per month at the Community Service Center where a computer lab
provides kids with basic computer literacy, as well as more advanced instruction that will help them in
school and job placement. This system complements the ongoing GED and Educational Tutoring,
life-skills, vocational and parenting workshops. The Crisis Center provides emergency care to homeless youth ages 18 to 21 years
old. The Rights of Passage Apartment Living Program (ROPAL) opened in March 2007 is a
transitional living program that prepares homeless young people to live independently.
If you would like to know more we encourage you to review our
milestones information sheet.