Shelter's days on the move finally ending

Change has been the one constant in Flathead Youth Home's 12-year existence.

The shelter, a haven for children in crisis, has seen hundreds of youths come and go over the last decade.

Its name has changed twice, from Flathead Youth Shelter to Flathead Attention Home to its current title.

The shelter has relocated twice, from its original site on Homestead Drive to Four Mile Drive to Panoramic Drive east of Kalispell.

It is preparing for a third move May 9, but this time, Flathead Youth Home is moving into a permanent facility - a new, specially designed building on the corner of East Oregon Street and Eighth Avenue East.

After offering hundreds of local youths a temporary home, the shelter finally will have a home of its own.

Flathead Youth Home's odyssey began in 1997 when the shelter, a branch of Missoula-based nonprofit Youth Homes, opened on Homestead Drive east of Kalispell. The shelter leased the building from the county for

$1 a year, program director Lance Isaak said.

A fuel oil leak forced the shelter to move in 2000. The program had to shut down for about eight months, Isaak said, because no other suitable building was available. The shelter has specific needs, including housing boys and girls on separate floors.

The shelter finally found space to rent on Four Mile Drive. When that property was sold for development in 2006, the shelter was given 60 days to move out, find a new building and obtain a conditional-use permit.

This time the search didn't take long; the shelter found a suitable place on Panoramic Drive. But it was still a rental, which left a little uncertainty in Flathead Youth Home's housing situation.

That's when the shelter began looking seriously for a place to permanently call home, Isaak said. Flathead Youth Home bought two vacant lots in Kalispell, partially paid for by a $450,000 community development block grant. Fundraising, which will continue through August, will make up the rest of the $1 million cost of the land and construction.

They have tried to make the building comfortable, development assistant Hannah Plumb said. The house is airy and open, with private, individual bedrooms and "quiet rooms' where youths can meet with their parents or counselors. There's a game room upstairs and a cozy kitchen with a huge pantry.

"It does feel more like a home," Plumb said. "It's not an institution. It's not detention."

The kids who will stay there have been referred by the local youth court or family-services department. Their family lives typically are in crisis and the kids, who range in age from 10 to 18, are battling everything from abuse and neglect to mental-health problems.

The average stay is three weeks, but kids may stay from one day to four months.

The shelter's goal during that time is to help stabilize the crisis, whatever it is, Isaak said. Flathead Youth Home helps kids find resources to cope with the complex problems they're facing.

"They're good kids. They're not bad kids," Isaak said. "Sometimes they make bad decisions. …

"They're struggling through some tough things. Everyone needs a place to make it through those things with support."

The shelter provides the kids stability in times of crisis. Even something as simple as sitting down together for supper helps create a homey environment, Plumb said.

The shelter's new location also will help. In addition to shortening drive times to counseling appointments, school events and hospital emergencies, the central location will allow the kids to be part of a neighborhood.

"Because we've been a little bit on the outskirts, we're not a community presence," Plumb said.

The kids have always done community-service projects to get plugged into the greater Flathead community, she said. They rake leaves and shovel sidewalks for people who lack the time or mobility to do it themselves.

Being able to help their next-door neighbors will help the kids' sense of belonging, Plumb said.

"What better place to do that?" she asked. "Here in a neighborhood, in the thick of people - it's a great thing."

The neighbors seem to have welcomed the shelter. The adjacent Shining Mountains Center for Positive Living said a blessing at the shelter's groundbreaking ceremony in September.

A longtime resident who initially worried about having "troubled" youths in the neighborhood has become an advocate for the shelter and brought other neighbors to meet Plumb and Isaak.

The entire community has shown its support for the program by helping Flathead Youth Home find a home at last, Isaak said. He considers it proof that the Flathead truly cares about its kids.

"For 12 years, we always made do. Kids shouldn't have to make do," he said. "We feel the youth home is something the community will be able to take pride in."

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or by e-mail at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com