Friends of Youth in Redmond raises $156,000 at annual luncheon

Published 2:18 pm Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Life has been good to Steve Olsen.

Now in his late 60s, he has a loving family and 48 years of marriage under his belt.

But things weren’t always great.

In 1958 at the age of 14, he became a resident of Friends of Youth’s (FOY) Griffin Home Residential Treatment Center, a home for troubled adolescent boys. According to the FOY website, the Griffin Home in Renton offers a “caring, therapeutic environment” where residents can learn about responsibility, making healthy choices and self-sufficiency for the future.

And this was just what Olsen needed.

“Some people say I was good at being bad,” he said.

He said he received a second chance twice as he stayed at the home for several months on two separate occasions and expressed how proud he was of the different values he learned about during his stays.

“I really think that 53 years ago that Friends of Youth changed my life,” he said.

On Friday, Olsen (below) shared his story at FOY’s 7th Annual “Celebration of Youth Luncheon,” a fundraiser for the Redmond-based nonprofit whose mission is to deliver a broad range of services to youth and their families throughout King and Snohomish counties to improve their emotional stability and self sufficiency.

Terry Pottmeyer, president and chief executive officer for FOY, said the luncheon brought in $156,000 and they are still accepting donations.

As he addressed the crowd, Olsen discussed the people at the Griffin Home who cared for him such as the home’s cook who used to sneak him cookies and his suspicions of the new experience.

“She would treat me like a king,” he said. “I never had that in my life.”

In addition to Olsen, Natasha Mercado also spoke at the event, which was held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bellevue.

The 21-year-old is a current FOY client in the supportive permanent housing program and has been working with the organization since she was 18. Her parents were dealing with addiction and “didn’t value school at all for (her),” so Mercado began looking into different organizations and programs that could help her gain independence.

Mercado found FOY on her own but she said she is a motivated person and went looking for help. She said not everyone will do this and some may not even know where to turn. Because of this, Mercado said events such as the FOY luncheon are important not just to raise money for the nonprofit, but to also raise awareness.

Mercado began in FOY’s transitional housing program in Everett before being accepted into the permanent housing program.

“I can remember it was the best day of my life,” she said about learning about her acceptance into the program, adding that a scholarship she received that same day contributed to her happiness as well.

Like Olsen, Mercado also discussed how much the people at FOY care and how her caseworker has been just as happy about her successes as Mercado has been. Mercado is now enrolled in Bellevue College studying radiology and plans to eventually transfer to the University of Washington. She also works as an administrative assistant at FOY.

Pottmeyer said the staff at FOY such as Mercado’s caseworker and Olsen’s cook are one of the reasons the organization can provide the services they do.

“I’m humbled to work with them, all 175 of them, every day,” she said.

Pottmeyer also attributed FOY’s success to donors such as those in attendance at last week’s event, volunteers, other organizations they work in collaboration and partnership with and elected officials who help secure funding and create policy to make her job easier.

Congressman Dave Reichert — who represents the Eighth District, which includes parts of Redmond — attended last week’s luncheon and said the event is especially significant for him as he grew up in a difficult family environment. There was domestic violence and as a result, he ran away and lived in his car for some time while attending Kent Meridian High School.

“I know the story of being homeless,” Reichert said.

It is because of this personal experience that he makes it a point to support youth services organizations and programs such as FOY.

“I really get involved,” he said. “This is a passion of mine. You’ll always find me at these events.”