Published: September 21, 2006 11:50 pm         

Youth shelter reaches funding goal

Sometimes the children who are placed in the emergency youth shelter at Youth & Family Services of Northwest Oklahoma are the victims of circumstance.

Many times, they also are victims of bad timing.

Justin Simmons, executive director of Youth & Family Services, said life goes on for the children placed in the shelter, even when it’s Christmas, the Fourth of July or the child’s birthday.

“We have birthdays for them here, but their friends aren’t here,” Simmons said, adding Enid residents always are generous and make sure the shelter’s residents have gifts at Christmas.

More than 200 northwest Oklahoma youths last year sought help and refuge at the emergency youth shelter at Youth & Family Services of Northwest Oklahoma.

Now, Simmons said he is happy to announce fundraising goals to build a new 12,000-square-foot shelter have been met. Volunteers raise more than $1.2 million to build the new shelter.

The campaign kicked off in November 2005 with about 50 volunteers. The last phase of the campaign — 100 Grand for Kids — kicked off in July to raise the remaining $100,000 needed to receive a $220,000 challenge grant through the Mabee Foundation. The campaign exceeded its $100,000 goal by raising $120,000 in six weeks.

“We are so grateful for the tremendous community and donor support that we have received during this campaign,” Simmons said. “The community really stepped up to make this happen.”

YFS operates both a youth shelter and counseling center, and the funds raised will be used to build the new facility at the corner of Oxford and Midway.

Architectural plans developed by Corbin Associates are under way, and construction is planned early in 2007. A ground-breaking ceremony is to be scheduled in October.

The shelter’s current capacity is 12 — six females and six males. Simmons said eight children on average are in the shelter each day and they stay an average of 14 days. The current facility is aging, deteriorating, barely adequate and doesn’t meet local fire codes.

Simmons said he hopes the new facility has enough space for 18 total beds.

“Our volunteer leadership of this project was amazing,” said Simmons. “We have felt grateful to be under the leadership of Brad Blankenship, Mike Barnthouse and Dr. Bert Rogers.”

Simmons said founder Thelma Gungoll, still supporting the agency at 100 years old, was integral in the success of the campaign.

“Mrs. Gungoll is such an inspiration, having had the fortitude and insight to create this agency more than 30 years ago, effectively laying a foundation that is still going strong today,” he said.

“We are so thankful for her vision and generous heart that pushed this campaign to victory. We are also grateful to the Ward family for their generous support and insight during this campaign.”

Youth and Family Services of North Central Oklahoma, founded in 1974 by Gungoll, is an Enid-based nonprofit agency that provides therapeutic foster care placement, counseling and other family centered services to children and families. The agency primarily serves Garfield, Grant and Major counties.

Simmons said sometimes the youth who are placed in the shelter are looking for anything familiar. A young resident recently spent a few weeks in the shelter but ran away as she was about to be placed in a foster home.

“She wasn’t running away because she was a bad kid, she was running away because she was scared,” Simmons said.