Covenant House names building for
Cd. Maida
Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 28, 2006
Detroit – Although the most recently finished building on the Covenant House campus has already been named, an upcoming open house celebration will make it official.
Covenant House, a temporary home for homeless and at-risk youths, is marking the renovation of four buildings with an open house and dedication of the Adam Cardinal Maida Administration Building, the last building to be completed, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4. Cardinal Maida is expected to be a special guest at the celebration, as is Sr. Patricia Cruise, S.C., international president of Covenant House.
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Melissa Golpe, public relations coordinator of Covenant House Michigan, Sam Joseph, executive director of Covenant House Michigan, and Stephanie Godboldo, a client, stand in front of the Adam Cardinal Maida Administration Buildingat the Detroit campus. | Sam Joseph, executive director of Covenant House, said the organization wanted to honor Cardinal Maida because of his instrumental role in getting Covenant House to the point it's at today. In 1999, the archdiocese offered a 5.3-acre site, formerly a senior citizens' residence, to the organization.
In addition to the land, the cardinal supported Covenant House with his encouragement and moral support, Joseph said. "He believed in the mission of Covenant House," he said. "He always was available."
The Maida building received a new roof and electrical and plumbing upgrades. In addition to administrative offices, it houses a Street Outreach Center, a Medical and Mental Health Clinic for Covenant House youths, and a staff training facility.
The new, professional building helps run the program and its $4.5 million operating budget – which means the staff is busy raising all of the money needed, Joseph said. It was the last building to be redone, as the shelters and common areas were a higher importance.
Some of the major donors to Covenant House, Peter and Connie Cracchiolo of St. Clair Shores, sponsored the naming of the new administrative building. The Cracchiolos, as well as Louise Degroot of Coloma and Martin and Olivia Lagina of Traverse City, will be honored with Covenant House's Lizzie Award, which recognizes donors who have gone above and beyond to support Covenant House's mission.
The Lizzie statue depicts a young girl leaning against a trash can, and is a symbol of how there are no "throw away" kids. Cardinal Maida received the first Lizzie Award several years ago.
Stephanie Godboldo is just one of many clients of Covenant House who went there when she didn't have anywhere else to go. She's been there just longer than a month, after she lost her college financial aid and then her job after her 19th birthday, which made her no longer a ward of the state.
 Covenant House
Open house: 5:30 p.m. Thursday, May 4, 2959 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., at the Interstate 96 service drive. RSVP at (313) 463-2020. For more information: Call (313) 463-2000 or visit www.covenanthousemi.org. | Godboldo, who grew up in the Detroit area, said she finds it helpful to be around other people in similar situations, and she's made some good friends. She finds the staff at Covenant House to be both helpful and caring.
"This is the cleanest place I've ever been in," she said.
She plans to spend the summer working and saving money at Cedar Point, where many other Covenant House residents will also be going, and starting at Wayne State University's nursing program in the fall.
Although Godboldo will already be in Ohio for the open house, other clients are planning on being there to interact with visitors, share their stories, and tell how Covenant House has made a difference to them. Nearly all of Covenant House's funding comes from individual and foundation support, Joseph said, and there will be before-and-after pictures of the buildings and tours if donors want to see what their money helped build.
"We are truly a community-based program," he said.
Refreshments will be served, and music will be provided by the Ray Battani Trio. The event is sponsored by MGM Grand Detroit Casino and will be hosted by Teresa Tomeo of WDEO Catholic radio.
In addition to the administration building, Covenant House consists of a 45-bed emergency Crisis Center, a 30-bed Rights of Passage transitional Living program, and a Commons building, with a kitchen, dining hall, fitness center and more. A new educational building is in the works to house a charter school, which Joseph hopes will be completed by next year.
Joseph said the success of the program has been phenomenal, with many clients leaving to go on to college or to hold full-time jobs. The youths are generally happy there, and the staff is made up of "very mission-minded people," he said.
"We do believe this is a covenant we live out by helping the kids," he said. "We take 'covenant' out and there's not much left. That's a simple shelter, and that's not what we are."
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