SafeHouse of the Desert Opens Its Doors to Runaways
It’s a brand new day for desert kids who have either run away from home or have been “thrown away” by their parents or guardians.
Valley officials cut the ribbon on the new SafeHouse of the Desert, a facility designed to help pick up the pieces for kids aged 12 through 18 who don’t have a caring home environment, and find themselves on the streets.
A 2001 needs assessment conducted by the Regional Access Foundation found that all Coachella Valley homeless programs currently serve either adults or families with children. The 696 homeless and runaway children that were reported last year fall into neither category. And this number is the tip of the iceberg: most runaways and throwaways are never reported.
“Runaway kids lack resources and do not know where to turn for help, oftentimes making bad choices as a result,” says Fourth District Supervisor Roy Wilson. “SafeHouse of the Desert will provide a critical alternative to young people whose lives are in turmoil.”
SafeHouse of the Desert is an expansion of Operation SafeHouse, which has been serving youth in crisis in Riverside for 15 years. The Desert facility is a 16,000 square foot, 20-bed emergency shelter designed to serve approximately 600 kids annually.
Located at 72710 East Lyn Street in Thousand Palms, the shelter will be accessible to public transportation for children who get to the shelter by their own means. Since more than half of the kids arriving at the shelter are expected to be transported by police or sheriff, the shelter’s central Valley location has garnered the support of local law enforcement agencies.
There is much more to this story, including how you can become involved with its ongoing operations. See the SafeHouse website for more details: www.operationsafehouse.org.
