Rights of Passage Graduation

I am currently working at Covenant House, as a Resident Advisor in their Rights of Passage Program. It is a long-term transitional living program. The young adults ranging from 18 to 21 years old stay for 12 to 18 months and during their stay they participate in educational and vocational programs, learn independent living skills, receive counseling services, and develop a plan for permanent housing. Once a year they have a graduation for those who have successfully completed the program. This was my first time being involved in this event.





There is little thanks in the job I do mostly because they just don’t always know how to say thank you but this evening was truly a blessing in which I was able to celebrate with them, which for many was the first time they had graduated from anything in their live. I feel full of love for these young people, I also felt proud of each of them, like the kind of pride a mother must feel for her own children. I have learned from them and been challenged by the their incredible stories of survival, that after everything they have endured they still can find a reason to laugh and a way to love. I only wish I could be as strong as they are.