WACO, Texas — With the help of The Cove-Heart of Texas, 17 seniors will be graduating from high school in Waco.
The Cove is located in Waco and has helped 104 unhoused students graduate high school since it opened in 2016. The non-profit organization's mission is to provide a safe space for youth aged 14-18 years who are experiencing homelessness to access the resources they need to thrive.
"Many teens just haven't been exposed to opportunities," Marketing and Fundraising Director Harold Brown explained. "It's just great to expose them to what is possible. More than half of the teens graduating didn't think they could do it so they're really grateful."
A top goal at The Cove is to help students graduate high school. In Texas, students who have experienced homelessness graduate around 10-20 percentage points lower than their stably housed peers.
The Cove aims to reduce this gap by meeting basic needs like showers, food, clothing, laundry, access to laptops, rides to school, tutoring, access to mentors, positive reinforcements and more.
"Everything we provide for these teens is free of charge," Brown shared. "There is a huge need for what we do and I'm very grateful that The Cove exists because it helps students in so many ways when they're not living in a stable home."
To continue their important work, The Cove is gearing up for a summer program aimed at teaching unhoused teenagers vital life skills.
"We'll be teaching budgeting, how to do job interviews, how to apply to jobs and different things like that," Brown said. "We want it to be fun for the summer and we want to just be a place where they can come and stay out of trouble and have something to do over the summer."
The organization will also be taking a handful of teens on Texas college tours to get a glimpse of what college is like.
Brown encourages any unhoused teenagers in Central Texas to visit The Cove office and speak with their staff if they need any kind of help.
For those looking to volunteer or contribute with donations, visit The Cove website.
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