Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Youth shelter center plans move forward
County officials are moving forward with a plan to open a youth shelter at the former Berks County Residential Center.
The commissioners Thursday unanimously approved a resolution authorizing its leadership team to take the necessary steps to establish a shelter care program at the Bern Township facility for children in custody of Berks County Children and Youth Services.
The commissioners submitted an application to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Resources for a license to operate the shelter care program last spring, noting there is a shelter care bed crisis across Pennsylvania affecting children. The shelter would provide temporary housing and services for youths with nowhere else to go.
Larry Medaglia, deputy chief operations officer for the county, said Thursday that the county has secured the license and the necessary funding is in place. The leadership team will now focus on the preparations needed to open the shelter by this summer.
“This resolution allows the team to begin working
on the actions necessary to build programming, to recruit the staff and to work with our community partners like the Schuylkill Valley School District,” he said.
Schuylkill Valley schools would provide educational programs at the facility because it is in the district.
Medaglia said they anticipate opening the shelter in July. And if things go according to plan, he said he hopes to be able to contract with surrounding counties that are dealing with this same issue the following month.
Commissioners Chairman Christian Leinbach thanked the team for the work to bring the plan to
this point, saying the facility will help fill a critical need in the community.
“This is something that is really important,” he said. “I know we have a lot of work in front of us, but I want to thank the team for leading this effort. It has taken a lot of people to get us where we are.”
Leinbach added that there are very few, if any, beds for children who are abandoned or homeless. As a result, children are forced to stay in hospital emergency rooms or hotel rooms at great expense to the county because there are no placements with treatment services available for this very vulnerable population.