Program Descriptions
Drop-in Center
In 1981 Covenant House began as a drop-in center to serve the city's homeless and working poor. An average of eighty men, women, and children come through the front doors looking for a safe place to rest. The drop-in center is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 - 4:00. Everyone is welcome.
Many of our guests have no address. Our drop-in center features free public phone, private shower, laundry, and access to a safe mailing address for food stamps and checks. Our house offers a beautiful, spacious sun room and reading room where persons can catch up on the local news, or just chat with a friend. There is a play space for children and tables and chairs for adults. We have a selection of books we give to children, and adults are invited to take recycled novels. Our grounds outside offer a place to sit for adults and a play space for young children.
Emergency Assistance
Covenant House offers a financial assistance program for the area's working poor, and those caught in the grinding wheels of welfare reform. We also screen persons for eligibility for food and clothing orders. Covenant House's emergency assistance program started through the efforts of a group of 15 religious congregations in Charleston, who had a vision of a central location where folks could be helped with their utility bills and rent and who believed combining their resources would best serve the needs of the poor. The Charleston Interdenominational Council on Social Concerns (CICSC), has expanded to include 30 congregations.
The social workers at Covenant House are trained in case management, and crisis intervention. We work cooperatively with other social service agencies to fill gaps and make referrals when necessary. The financial resources come from individuals, local congregations and foundations, and the federal government's FEMA program.
In collaboration with four other agencies since 2000, a special HUD funding has allowed us to do additional outreach and provide supportive services to homeless individuals in Kanawha County.
Food PantryThe food pantry is located at the First Presbyterian Church in Charleston. It is staffed by volunteers from many area congregations in town. Open daily Monday through Friday during morning hours, the volunteers receive persons who have been screened through the Emergency Assistance program and qualify for food assistance. With abundant generosity from the community, we have extended our giving to Kanawha County and on occasion to Lincoln County.
Food orders reflect a balanced and nutritional diet. They include canned foods, frozen goods, personal hygiene products, and cleaning supplies. The items are acquired through cash donations, government programs, and many local drives throughout the year. The civic and religious communities are very responsive. As a result, thousands of people have been served through this pantry. Emergency food orders are available in the afternoons at Covenant House.
Good Samaritan Clothing Center
Thousands of clothing items are generously donated each year to the clothing center, which is located at St. Marks United Methodist Church, Charleston, and operates daily Monday through Friday mornings. The need for clothing is the greatest request made by those who visit us. Staffed by volunteers, the clothing center makes high quality donated clothing ready for our low-income families. Some items are sold for very low prices, but most clothing is given away to those on limited or fixed incomes. Vouchers are issued from the Emergency Assistance program.
Adopt-A Family
While the holiday season is a happy one for many individuals and families, it also can be a time of isolation, loneliness and great despair for many others. It is a time of year when poverty accentuates the difference between those who have and can give, and those who want to give to their children but can not. Traditionally, many organizations and individuals throughout Kanawha County have responded generously to the needs of small children during this season.
We serve an average of ninety families representing more than 360 persons. We serve families mostly from very poor rural areas, who lack the access to benefits those in urban areas receive. A typical family receives household gifts for the parents, toys and clothes for the children and food for everyone.
AIDS Residential and Resource ProgramThe AIDS Residential and Resource Program of Covenant House began in 1989 with the purchase of a home for persons with HIV and AIDS who had been rejected by family and friends who were fearful of this terrible disease. As other doors were closing for many with HIV and AIDS, Covenant House was opening its doors.
More than a decade later, Covenant House is part of a statewide housing and adovacy coalition for people with AIDS. In Charleston, the program has three homes where people with AIDS may live and die with dignity. Many use the homes as a stop on the way to getting their lives back. Others utilize the various resources available through the program while continuing to live in their own homes. Services available to qualified HIV positive individuals include financial assistance with rent, utilities, and medication costs; counseling and supportive services; help with filling out forms required by government and insurance, as well as Living Wills and Medical Power of Attorney; and educational information. Services also are available to families and life partners.
Covenant House's AIDS program serves the 22 Southern West Virginia counties.
Health Action Program
The Covenant House Health Action Program is dedicated to assuring comprehensive, quality, affordable and universal health care for all West Virginians.We seek an integrated health care system covering physical and mental health, prescriptions and preventive care, focused on patient care and sensitive to patient rights
We seek to
- defend present governmental programs and funding
- support new initiatives to expand coverage and affordability, and
- demand an action plan for universal, affordable coverage.
We oppose plans that dilute risk pools, engage in cherry-picking low risk individuals, limit necessary coverage, privatize Medicaid and Medicare coverage, or fail to support and expand the medical safety net.
To these ends, we join with others to educate, strategize, and lobby.
Challenge WV
Visit the Challenge WV website by clicking here.
Covenant House, 600 Shrewsbury Street, Charleston, WV 25301-1211
phone (304) 344-8053 fax (304) 344-4331 e-mail: Contact Us