YAKIMA Its name is yet to be decided, but the dream is already under construction.
Several community groups are coming together to turn an old two-story, cream-colored downtown home into a drop-in resource center for homeless youths. If work is completed on schedule, it should open in early May 2007.
This morning, on the front steps of the house at 204. S. Naches Ave.
, project organizers thanked Central Washington Comprehensive Mental Health for donating the house, and presented its president and CEO, Rick Weaver, with a certificate of appreciation.
Conservative estimates indicate at least 300 Yakima-area young people are homeless.
"These kids need resources," said Jennifer Mabry, a family and consumer science teacher at Stanton Academy.
She directs the school's teen parent program and manages its child development center. "They have no one else. They need us.
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The resource center, although a house, will not serve as a shelter. Instead, it will be a place where homeless youths can take showers, wash clothes and receive a variety of services -- including one that connects them with educational opportunities and counseling.
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