Antoine Changes for the Better

For Antoine, surviving on the streets meant making tough choices and sometimes paying the price. He spent time in jail and sometimes even welcomed it. “Three hots and a cot. That’s how some people look at it.” He says. For a while, jail seemed to be the only option he had.

Growing up, Antoine’s family life had been tough. His mother had been a drug and alcohol user. “It was a bad situation for me even trying to go to school. I would wake up and my mom wouldn’t be there.” Things became tougher as Antoine grew older and by the age of eighteen, he had had enough. “I just felt like it would be better if I was on my own, so I just left.”

Antoine didn’t have a plan. He didn’t know how to survive. “I did what I had to do” he says now with regret. “I broke the law because it was the only thing I could do.” But he paid the price too. “For awhile, I got to where I saw jail as my home. I didn’t have any other place to go and it sure beat sleeping in the streets.”

Life changed for Antoine though when by chance, he met a man who knew about Covenant House California. He got a referral and was taken in the same day. Along with providing him shelter, food and clothing, CHC has been helping Antoine obtain his GED and has also helped train him in finding a job. “I know how to job search now. I know how to talk in an interview. These are basic things that I had to learn if my life was ever going to change.”

For Antoine, his experiences at CHC have been learning ones. “Being at Covenant House has changed me in a lot of ways. I’m more mature now. I’ve learned about responsibility; right and wrong.” Antoine has now set goals in his life and is reaching toward obtaining them. He says he owes it to CHC. “CHC treats a person with respect. They try to help you.” He says. “And the experience has changed me for the better.”

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