New site selected for students needing secure space
Center designed for after school and evening use by students experiencing homelessness.
- Aim to provide security and facilitate high school graduation
Officials with High Mountain Youth Project signed a lease for a residence where they plan to open a drop-in center next month for high school students, who need a secure place to study and relax after school.
High Mountain Youth Project is a nonprofit organization with a mission to help address youth homelessness in Lincoln County. The evening drop-in center is the first program of a comprehensive safety net that later will include overnight shelter.
“I’m hoping that we can start serving our teens in three weeks,” High Mountain president Laurie Benavides told board members in a message this week. “This can happen, if we all pull together.”
High Mountain has leased a four-bedroom residence in a small building on Gavilan Canyon Road. When it begins operating, the center will be open to students who need it from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week.
Benavides said High Mountain is searching for a program manager to oversee center operations and also is seeking applications from volunteers willing to staff the center and serve evening meals.
Applicants for the program manager position and information for prospective applicants and volunteers can be found at HighMountainYouth.org.
The organization previously was unsuccessful in securing approval to operate the center in a residential neighborhood in Ruidoso, based primarily on objections from neighbors.