By JUDD WEIL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Interfaith Housing and Community Services, a Hutchinson-based 501(c)(3), is addressing youth mentorship and housing with its transitional youth house.
The former LightHouse property, located at 1005 N. Washington St., is being renovated into eight individual apartments.
It will provide transitional housing for homeless or struggling youth, ages 18 to 25, in need of a safe and affordable place to live.
“How this came to light is that we had a conversation with some high schools here in town. And they were saying how there were a lot of youth that were couch-surfing, that type of thing,” Lacy Stauffacher, Interfaith Director of Creating Assets Savings and Hope, said. “Over a hundred in our community.”
The transitional youth house, set to open in the spring, has seen a few setbacks.
“It will not be completed until April,” Stauffacher said. “We’ve had delays because of the electrical, everything’s going to be ran on its own electrical, and the electrical boxes are severely delayed. They were supposed to be here a year ago in November, and we’re still waiting.”
Stauffacher said Interfaith will start processing applications in 2023.
“Once the young adults apply, the whole premise of the project is to just wrap the individual with resources,” Stauffacher said. “Resources that they can get on their feet. They can start paying that market value rent.”
“And we have other partners who are going to teach cooking skills, cleaning skills, and just maintaining a house.”
Other resources will include helping with college or providing a full-time job.
Additionally, a new non-profit, Safe Harbor, will provide case management and support services for the youth.
“The bottom line, the absolute thing is that we want eight young adults provided with safe, affordable housing,” Stauffacher said.
The property will be for single people only as a way to encourage the young adults living there to focus on learning the life skills being mentored to them.
Life skills like shopping on a budget, organizing small spaces, and laundry.
The project has already been met with community support.
“There's a church nearby that has said they would like to provide a meal once a Wednesday a month,” Stauffacher said. “First Mennonite Church. They’re highly involved.”
Sunflower Yoga in Hutchinson will be donating bathroom supplies in support of the house.
“Anything they need, toiletries, towels, washcloths, anything that you would need for a bathroom,” Brian Martin, owner of Sunflower Yoga, said.
Sunflower Yoga will take bathroom donations for Interfaith until the beginning of the new year.
“This is a mission for us,” Stauffacher said. “Safe, affordable housing for all, is part of our mission. We were in a couple community meetings, we did see a need, where there are these young adults that are in transition to find secured housing. That could be an individual aging out of the foster care system, that could be a kid in their last semester in high school.”
“On top of that, the funding piece of it was to create a program that wraps these individuals with resources for substance abuse education.”
The program will also provide resumé help, access to healthcare, and a mentor.
Providing a mentor will encourage a positive adult relationship where many young adults may have been missing that influence in their lives.
“It's just a positive role model in their life where they can rely on them just to talk to,” Stauffacher said.
Stauffacher said that, although the program is in the infancy stage and they still have a few technical things to figure out, Interfaith has a clear goal.
“Is it income-based rent? Is it no rent for a little bit until they can get on their feet? With the goal of once they’re either a year or two years in the LightHouse where they can sustain a market value rented-place or purchase a home,” Stauffacher said.
Providing safe and affordable housing has been Interfaith’s mission since its founding in 1989.
Interfaith, as a non-profit, runs on donations, volunteers and grant funding.
The transitional youth housing project has received donations and community tax credits for funding.
Interfaith needs $150,000 to completely fund every facet of the project, according to Stauffacher.
“We do work a lot on volunteer work,” Stauffacher said. “In January and February, the CASP group will be there to finish up the project.”
The fine lines of the overall project are still getting worked out and more details will come from Interfaith as the end of the year nears, as well as April 2023.
People wanting to donate to the Interfaith Housing and Community Services transitional housing project and program can visit www.interfaithks.org/contact or call (620) 662-8370.
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