Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our youth face some of the greatest challenges in our community: 85% are survivors of physical abuse and/or sexual abuse, assault, or rape 30% aged out of foster care 15% ran away from home 75% were thrown out of homes that no longer wanted them 52% are young women, 46% are young men, and 2% are transgender 40% of our young men and 30% of our young women have been released from jail or juvenile detention 36% of our young women are mothers 30% are survivors of human trafficking and/or sexual labor 35% identify as LGBTQ+ 85% suffer from PTSD/poly-trauma – 35% receive medication 80% have used drugs – 40% require support for serious substance use disorders
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
24/7 Care Center
We offer three levels of residential care: short-term crisis care, longer-term transitional living programs, and supportive housing in off-site apartments for youth with mental health disabilities. A spectrum of professional services address root causes of homelessness, beyond the lack of immediate housing. This includes job readiness training and assistance finding jobs; a job training program in landscape services; assistance enrolling in partnering programs such as Café Reconcile, Liberty’s Kitchen, Goodwill Culinary Arts, and Louisiana Green Corps; life skills training; pre-school education enrollment; medical and behavioral health care in partnership with Tulane Medical School; and pastoral services. Youth are encouraged to complete high school or to enroll in partnering GED programs at the Youth Empowerment Project (NOPLAY program) and the city’s JOB 1 workforce development center for youth. We also assist our young people in applying to college and entering vocational training programs. Our outreach staff works with unhoused youth and makes presentations on homeless issues and services in our community. All of these programs help our youth build skills, resources, knowledge, and the confidence to pursue healthy futures.
Transitional living
Highly motivated residents can apply to transitional living through our Rights of Passage program. We provide on-campus housing, counseling, and mentoring while residents work, save, and advance their education. Residents attend school and work between 50 to 55 hours a week. Participants save 40% of their income is saved and spend 20% toward their food and rent. We provide 24/7 case management and counseling while they build skills and resources for independent living. In our Rights of Passage community, residents create a weekly budget for meals and cooks dinner together in their communal kitchen.
Covenant House also helps residents move into their own apartments off-site through our Rapid Re-housing program. Our staff help young people find appropriate and affordable housing on their own or with a family member or friend.We also offer financial assistance (on a sliding scale) for 10 months to help youth and families establish their independence. Our youth attend meetings with staff on a bi-weekly basis to help them acquire and maintain off-site housing.
Off-site Supportive Housing
For our youth and young parents with a diagnosed disability, we offer long-term supportive housing. Youth in this program live in off-site apartments while remaining closely connected to Covenant House's services and support system. We provide programs directly, while also linking youth to community and neighborhood resources. Services provided by Covenant House include physical health and mental health care, job and education assistance, supportive services, and financial assistance.
Where we work
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of unhoused youth and children who took refuge at Covenant House New Orleans, receiving food, clothing, shelter, case management and counseling.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Young adults, Infants and toddlers, LGBTQ people, At-risk youth, People of African descent
Related Program
24/7 Care Center
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Percentage of youth and children in our 24/7 Emergency Crisis Center who were placed in safe, decent housing, including family reunification whenever possible.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
24/7 Care Center
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
COVID impacted this metric
Number of youth in our "Rights of Passage" transitional living program who received longer-term support, residing on-campus as they worked, saved, continued their education, and built life skills.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Transitional living
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of residents and youth in the community who benefited from onsite adolescent and pediatric health services, provided in partnership with Tulane Medical School.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of participants who gain employment
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of youth enrolled in high school, GED programs, or college
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of children enrolled in Head Start or elementary school
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of youth provided with bus tickets across the country to reunite with family or relatives who were able to offer a stable and safe living environment.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
24/7 Care Center
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our youth face some of the greatest challenges in our community. We have served thousands of youth facing homelessness and trafficking since we opened in 1986. Our first objective is reuniting young people with family, but when that is not possible, we provide residential programs and professional support services to help them move out of poverty and start building brighter futures. The ultimate outcome is independent living as self-sufficient, adult members of our community.
With the help of the Covenant House New Orleans family, our youth ages 22 and under are receiving the unconditional love and relentless support they need to begin healing and start building brighter futures.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We provide three levels of residential support: emergency shelter, transitional living, and off-site apartment housing. Our shelter is open 24/7 to provide food, clothing, and short-term housing for youth and young families in crisis. Our transitional living and permanent supportive housing (PSH) programs foster achievement and growth beyond the average 27-day stay in our shelter. Youth in our transitional living received 6-18 months of supportive housing while they worked, saved, continued their education, and built life skills. Our PSH apartments help those with disabilities maintain independent living. All of our youth benefit from case management & counseling, educational & vocational services, and medical & behavioral health care. Our caseload has increased dramatically; we now average over 200 youth and children per night and over 900 each year. We also serve about 25,000 meals annually.
We have an experienced, professional staff working with our kids. They provide educational, vocational, employment, physical health, and mental health assessments to each youth who comes to us for help. We maintain a youth development approach in our work. Case managers help youth develop individualized plans to guide their stays. Education and employment staff work with youth to improve their job skills and explore employment opportunities, and to address their educational levels. Those without high school diplomas receive assistance to enroll in GED programs; minors are encouraged to stay in school, and we typically have five or six high school (and even college) students living with us. Our licensed youth counselors present workshops on topics such as Conflict Resolution and Creative Expressions. We also have outreach staff that work with unhoused youth, building their trust to accept needed services at Covenant House, from other providers, and right on the street.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have a track record for service recognized throughout our community, where we are the only provider of an open-intake crisis shelter for youth, and the only provider of a large transitional living program for young men and women. We have professional staff (many with advanced degrees and certification, including Licensed Clinical Social Workers); established income sources (64% private income from individual donors and from corporate/foundation grants); a supportive parent organization, Covenant House International; and an active, volunteer Board of Directors comprised of business, civic, and non-profit leaders in our community. We own our buildings, have an endowment, and attract print and broadcast media attention for our work and our young people's successes.
Our crucial network of service partners is growing. This has proven to be a cost and outcome effective approach to care. Our partners include the Youth Empowerment Project (YEP) and the city's Job 1 workforce development office for GED programs; Café Reconcile, Liberty's Kitchen, Goodwill Culinary Arts, Louisiana Green Corps, Job 1 and others for job training programs; local businesses that provide jobs for our kids; Tulane University Medical School that operates our on-site adolescent and pediatric health clinics, and joins us in providing behavioral health services; and many other medical service providers (such as dental, eye, and OB/Gyn care). Community volunteers broaden our kids' life experiences through their mentoring, assistance, and support.
Recent wellness activities have emphasized harm reduction and preventative care. A new demonstration project for maternal and newborn health outcomes will follow pregnant residents in a small community setting from pregnancy through the first year of their child's life to address low birth weight, pre-term birth, postpartum depression and other perinatal health outcomes.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
In 2020, a total of 896 young people took refuge from abusive homes and violent streets at Covenant House. They received food, clothing, shelter, counseling, case management, life skills, and so much more. Read our highlights below:
24/7 Emergency Crisis Care
• 459 youth and children served
• 80% found stable housing and/or family reunification
Rights of Passage (ROP) Transitional Living
• 112 youth and children served
• 86% graduated to a good job and stable housing
Medical & Behavioral Healthcare
• 98% of residents received comprehensive care in our onsite clinic, in partnership with Tulane Medical School
• 81% showed improved functioning in jobs, school, and interpersonal relations
Employment
• 214 youth found work or entered job training programs
Education
• 59 children enrolled in Head Start or elementary school
• 56 youth and children enrolled in high school, college, or GED/HiSET programs
Human Trafficking
• 90 youth served
• 77% found stable housing and/or family reunification
Outreach & Aftercare
• 217 youth received counseling and emergency services in the community
Reunification
• 148 youth received bus or plane tickets to reunite wit family or relatives offering a safe and stable environment
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We serve young people ages 16-22 who have experienced homelessness, including trafficked, pregnant and parenting youth.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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What significant change resulted from feedback?
In response to feedback from our youth regarding our clothing closet, we drafted plans to make the space more inclusive, gender neutral and to include a changing area. We also changed our resident policy to affirm the gender identity of residents and planned specialized activities for that group. We also realigned to meet the unique needs of trafficked persons.
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We engage the people who provide feedback in looking for ways we can improve in response, We act on the feedback we receive, We tell the people who gave us feedback how we acted on their feedback, We ask the people who gave us feedback how well they think we responded
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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COVENANT HOUSE NEW ORLEANS
Board of directorsas of 10/17/2022
Dr. Deidre Hayes
Tulane University School of Social Work
Term: 2020 -
Katie Harvill
Etherio Incentives
Christian Rhodes
Pelican State Partners
Martha Landrum
Community Advocate
Kristen Gisleson Palmer
The Gisleson Group LLC / Bargeboard LLC
David Krebs
Krebs, Farley & Dry
Deidre Hayes
Tulane University School of Social Work
Derrick Martin
Sugchairo, Moi & Martin Economic Advisory Services
Eric Alexander
Marsh & McLennan Companies
Gene Simon
BIS Services, LLC
Gregor Fox
Heather Millican Doyle
Jake Kleinmahon
Ochsner Hospital for Children
Karen Kearney
Intralox
Lance Africk
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
Luis Zervigon
Crescent Capital Consulting
Marc Behar
American Chiropractic Clinic
Paula Brown
State of Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit
Peter Wilson
Roth Law Firm
Tawana Ewing
Thelma French
Total Community Action, Inc.
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/17/2022GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We employ non-traditional ways of gathering feedback on programs and trainings, which may include interviews, roundtables, and external reviews with/by community stakeholders.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We use a vetting process to identify vendors and partners that share our commitment to race equity.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.