Covenant House Texas is a faith-based mission, and we encourage every youth who shelters with us to seek out hope and healing in their chosen faith. No youth exemplifies finding strength in their faith more than this month’s spotlight, Jakari. After finding Christ in 2022, Jakari found himself at a crossroads in his life where he was becoming more secure in his spirituality, but with his natural life becoming upended.
Jakari dealt with repeated bouts of homelessness in his home state of Virginia, often braving the brutal elements of northern winters in between stays with different family members. Earlier this year, a friend of Jakari’s spoke to him about coming to stay with them in Houston and, feeling led here spiritually, Jakari made his way to the city in April.
Upon Jakari’s arrival, he immediately set out to establish his own music label, Chase Entertainment, a faith-based studio designed to bring like-minded musical artists together and promote Christian music to younger audiences. Jakari’s spiritual and business ambitions were thrown into disarray after the unexpected departure of his friend left him once again without a home. Sitting in the leasing office of his friend’s apartment complex, Jakari was contemplating his next move when a member of his church reached out to offer support, which brought Jakari to the front door of Covenant House Texas.
Apprehensive at the thought of staying in a shelter, Jakari recalled his uneasiness during the first few moments in the intake building. After a few conversations with staff, Jakari remembered a peace coming over him and, as it did, he said that his perspective changed as he found himself wondering how to best be a light and source of hope to the other youth around campus. “The only thing I can do is progress while I’m here,” he noted.
Jakari credits his optimistic nature with his faith in the Lord and jokingly mentioned that it is what sustained him during the fallout of Hurricane Beryl. “I’ve never, ever seen anything like Covenant House,” he said. “I believe so many of us have potential, but just lack the resources to act on it and Covenant House is offering that to us.” Jakari’s time here has impacted him so much that his future plans now include working to end homelessness and using his musical artistry to advocate for the underprivileged.
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