HOW DOES CASA ALIANZA MEXICO HELP ABANDONED CHILDREN?

According to Mexico’s National Institute of Geography and Statistics, approximately 39.2 million children ages 0-17 live in Mexico and out of these, four million adolescents ages 12-17 have suffered physical or psychological abuse. That is 40 million too many.

In search of a better life, many of these young people flee abusive family environments only to find themselves in the streets and at the mercy of more violence,  exposed to highly addictive psychoactive substances, and at the prey of human traffickers.

Casa Alianza México, an affiliate of Covenant House in the United States, is a non-governmental organization located in Mexico City founded in 1988 with the mission to serve these children and adolescents. For nearly 30 years, they have provided care and protection for boys and girls ages 12 to 18 who have experienced social abandonment, including abuse, neglect, violence, addiction, sexual exploitation and human trafficking.  

Today, the rising tide of violence and instability in Central America has made Casa Alianza Mexico’s work even more urgent. The number of unaccompanied migrant children fleeing Central America and entering into Mexico continues to increase.  These children are particularly vulnerable to abuse and violence on the streets of Mexico while being also exposed to multiple risks during the journey including robbery, kidnapping, exploitation or even detention by migratory authorities. In response to this crisis, in 2016 Casa Alianza Mexico opened the Albatros Residency to serve unaccompanied migrant boys seeking refugee status in Mexico. The residency has the capacity to house 20 boys with the goal to provide shelter and protect their nest interests and human rights.

Casa Alianza Mexico’s mission does not end with providing vulnerable adolescents with shelter and basic services to safeguard their needs. They have a holistic care model equipped with a multi-disciplinary professional team who provides physical, emotional, social and spiritual support to youth in order for them to successfully become independent and self-sufficient.For more information, please visit: www.casa-alianzamexico.org or www.covenanthouse.org/casa-alianza/casa-alianza-mexico.

For millions of homeless youth, basic needs like a hearty meal, warm bed, and safe shelter are true luxuries. Instead of knowing the joys of childhood, homeless kids face the life-or-death dangers of living on the streets. Covenant House was founded more than 40 years ago with the mission to serve these young people with absolute respect and unconditional love.

Today, Covenant House is the largest privately-funded agency in the Americas providing food, shelter, immediate crisis care, and essential services to homeless youth throughout the United States, Canada and Latin America.
But we don’t stop at offering an immediate safe harbor. We strive to move each young person forward down the path to an independent adulthood, free from the risk of future homelessness.

For more information, please visit www.covenanthouse.org.