Dorn Checkley

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:: :: :: :: Dorn Checkley

Working at Covenant House runs in the family

Dorn Checkley, a 24-year-old youth worker at Covenant House New York volunteered for a special assignment – to open a shelter for homeless youth in Toronto.

In the summer of 1981, Dorn took his first trip out of the U.S. to start on the project that would forever impact his and his family’s lives.

The opening was set for the coming February and the small team, who were billeted in a downtown church rectory, had only a few months to prepare. Covenant House Toronto would be the third site in the growing agency for homeless youth.

“We were so busy getting ready,” Dorn recalls. “I was responsible for contacting other community agencies for referrals, speaking to community groups, fundraising. I was also training new staff in the values and policies of the agency. And, I often did walkabouts on the street where we saw many kids who were homeless.”

“I remember the opening day. I was so nervous but it was so exciting to be there that day,” Dorn says. “The doors opened at 8 a.m. and we started getting kids coming in right away. They were waiting to get in. I wasn’t surprised because we had met many on the street in the months before.”

Looking back, he says his part in launching the Toronto site “was a very significant moment in my life. It was rewarding to be able to help so many young people on the street in Toronto.”

His work at Covenant House eventually led him to establish the Pittsburgh Coalition Against Pornography to educate the public on pornography and its impact on prostitution and trafficking. Now he’s planning a career change and studying to become a nurse. Dorn also married and is the father of three daughters, including one who works at Covenant House Toronto today.

“Dad raised us to be daily activists, and that foundation is what attracted me to Covenant House,” says Kathryn Checkley, who works in our special events area. “It’s a special thing to find my vocation in the same organization where my dad worked. It feels complete. I know he’s amazed to see how far the organization has come.”

Kathryn has been with our agency since she graduated from the University of Toronto four years ago.