Helping More Homeless Youth The Plan for Yakima’s Rods House

Rod's House has been helping homeless youth since 2009 in the city of Yakima. Now they want to help even more kids through the opening of a new emergency youth shelter for youth and young adults. An open house is set for Thursday to get your feedback.

They must first obtain a land use permit before construction begins

Mark James, Executive Director at Rod’s House says they're trying to obtain a land use permit to build the shelter at 1017 East Chestnut Avenue.He says the shelter would offer 18 beds to youth ages 13-years-old to 24-years-old for overnight stays. Along with being able to spend multiple nights at the shelter the young people would also have access to training, behavioral health care, case managers, and non-emergency medical care.
If the land use permit is granted they hope to open the new shelter in 2023. James says "currently, there are no permanent emergency shelters for homeless youth in Yakima. This an opportunity to provide a safe, clean place for unaccompanied youth to stay during the night.”

Those who stay at the shelter have to follow rules

He says the shelter would have a privacy gate around the property, lighting and a staff on site 24-hours a day.
Those who stay at the shelter would have to follow rules including a curfew, behavioral expectations, and guidelines for general noise compliance.“We believe the success of the youth served comes from the help and support of the Yakima community and we want them to be involved throughout this project,” said James. “We look forward to hearing from the community tonight and will work diligently to acknowledge and address their comments where we can.”

You are invited to a public open house on Thursday

A public open house is being held to get feedback. The open house is set for Thursday, November 18 from 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm at EPIC Fairview Early Learning Center, 110 S Fair Ave.