PORT ANGELES — A new nonprofit organization aims to focus on feeding not only the stomachs of at-risk young people but also their emotional and spiritual needs.
The organization calling itself The Answer for Youth officially will open its doors at 711 E. Second St. on Oct. 5, said Susan Hillgren, president of the board of directors.
Work to start up the organization — which will abbreviate itself as “TAFY” — began about a year ago, Hillgren said.
“It will be the sweet connections for homeless youth,” Hillgren said.
The all-volunteer group will reach out to people between the ages of 13 and 24, and the location is the middle of where many of the at-risk youth spend time, Hillgren said.
‘All about location’
“It is all about location,” Hillgren said.
“We could have a location up by the high school given to us, but the kids would have a hard time getting there.”
Pam Fosnes, treasurer of the board, said the group will also teach life skills.
“We want to make sure they can learn about cooking and sewing and those sort of things,” Fosnes said.
The group will also have a place for Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and Narcotics Anonymous meetings as well as a food pantry and a clothing closet for people who are in need.
Craft projects and other activities will also be a focus.
“We’ll have lots of crafting projects because everyone knows you can’t do a craft wrong, and some of these kids really need to know that there is something they can’t mess up,” Hillgren said.
“We’ll also have classes on just the basics like how to fix a toilet.
“We also have a home economics teacher to teach that sort of thing, and we’ll teach them how not to overload an electrical socket.”
Other organizations
Hillgren and Fosnes said the charity was conceived after working with a variety of other organizations that focus on reaching out to youth.
“We had worked with many other agencies, and we felt there was a void in the area of being able to show how much we care and in sharing spiritually,” Fosnes said.
The group has vowed not to accept funding that would place restrictions in those areas.
“I, personally, am 20 years in recovery,” Hillgren said.
“I was one of those high-risk kids, and two of my four children are in recovery now.
“Sometimes it is really hard to love your own kids when they are rebelling and doing these sort of things.
“We want to be the people who love the kids when they are hard to love.
“There was a point where I was helping out at feeding kids on the streets, and I was just praying that someone was doing the same thing for my kid somewhere else.”
The board has set a goal of finding 200 people to donate $10 a month each.
“Donations can be anything though,” Hillgren said.
“Whether it is a $10 donation or a case of Ramen noodles, every single bit is important to help these kids out.”
The building will be open Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Donations can be made to The Answer for Youth at any First Federal branch.
For more information, phone Hillgren at 360-670-4363 or Fosnes at 360-452-4331.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
