Friends of Youth’s Youth Haven to debut Tuesday with Washington First Lady Trudi Inslee

Published 10:49 am Monday, June 24, 2013

Washington First Lady Trudi Inslee will officially open Friends of Youth’s (FOY) new Youth Haven home at a ribbon-cutting event at 11:30 a.m. on Tuesday at 13116 N.E. 132nd St. in Kirkland.

The newly constructed home will provide a safe and nurturing place for boys and girls age 11 through 17 who are experiencing a family crisis, have run away or are homeless.

Also on the program will be remarks from Kirkland Deputy Mayor Doreen Marchione, King County Director of Community Services Greg Ferland, 45th District Rep. Roger Goodman and FOY CEO Terry Pottmeyer. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony will be followed by tours of the new building and refreshments.

The new two-story Youth Haven facility is the second project completed at the agency’s new Kirkland campus, which also has a young adult emergency shelter in Redmond. The new facility will consolidate two existing sites in Bellevue and Kenmore under one roof and create capacity to serve up to 17 youth, both boys and girls.

Construction of Youth Haven was funded in part by grants from Washington’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, King County and A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH). Additional support comes from the Bellevue Rotary, the D.V. and Ida McEachern Charitable Trust and the Matsen family. FOY continues fund-raising for its $7.5 million capital campaign, which also includes construction of the new Homeless Youth Services Center in Redmond that opened last October and the final phase that will include four transitional housing facilities at the Kirkland campus.

Parking for Tuesday’s event is available across the street at the LDS Church located at 13220 N.E. 132nd St. Visitors are advised to use the marked crosswalk to access the campus.

FOY’s programs include:

• Homeless youth services, providing street outreach, overnight shelter, individual case management, employment and transitional housing programs for homeless youth and young adults throughout East and North King County and South Snohomish County.
• Youth and family services, providing mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, school-based prevention education and parenting programs in geographic areas covering the Issaquah, Snoqualmie and Riverview school districts.
• Residential services, providing therapeutic residential services, including foster care and emergency shelter, to youth under 18.

For more information, please visit www.friendsofyouth.org.