AUBURN, Wash. — The only shelter for children in South King County closed four years ago due to lack of funding, and children as young as 12-years-old needing overnight housing in the Auburn area lost that option. But now there’s money available, and that has changed everything.
Autumn Morrison, who oversees the South King County Youth Shelter, hears a lot of stories; unfortunately many are like this one:
“If Safe Place didn’t call me by the time that they did, I probably wouldn’t even be here right now. I’d probably be in the ER or something,” said a 17-year-old girl sitting in Morrison’s office.
Instead, because Safe Place connected that teen with SKYS (South King County Youth Shelter), she has a bed, three meals a day and a staff of people trained to help her - none of which were here a few weeks ago.
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In 2014, the youth shelter couldn’t afford to stay open after losing significant federal funding, and the children suffered because of it.
“They showed up at our drop-in center. They’d show up at our shelter overnight. And we couldn’t provide them services because we didn’t have the contracts for that,” Morrison said.
Nexus Youth and Families operates a number of programs and shelters in Auburn, but the youth shelter was the only one for children ages 12 to 18, and the only one between Seattle and Tacoma.
Nonprofit director Michelle Hankinson said the closure was devastating.
“There was an emphasis that was taken away from providing money for under 18 shelters at the time,” Hankinson said of 2014 when the shelter's funding was axed.
That happened despite the fact that, in its last year of operation, the shelter served 250 children.
So, Nexus held onto the building and kept the licenses current in hopes this day would come.
King County stepped in to fill the funding gap while Nexus renovated the space. The youth shelter will soon be approved to house 10 teens for up to 30 days.
“It’s turned out to be a beautiful project and young people really want to be here,” Hankinson said.
And while they’re at the shelter, they get connected with services, such as transitional housing, counseling and GED classes.
“I’ve passed one test. I passed my social studies,” a 17-year-old boy staying at the youth shelter said.
Of course, that’s not the end of these children's stories, but Morrison said this is when their stories really start to get good.
Nexus Youth and Families is still in need of donations and volunteers to keep the South King County Youth Shelter in operation. Click here for more information.