Collin County organization shelters homeless youth
The vision for City House started with a few notes scratched on the back of a restaurant napkin. Plano school teachers Nancy Boyd and Kay Goodman had noticed students sleeping in their cars or living out of their lockers, so the two went to a restaurant one day after work to come up with a plan.
"They had no background in social work or anything like that," said Rob Scichili, City House director of marketing and communication. "They were just teachers—they were normal people
that cared."
The teachers took their plan to a local church, which offered to provide a temporary shelter to homeless youth. The first City House shelter opened in December 1988 with six beds.
Today, City House is a multifaceted nonprofit organization offering an emergency shelter, counseling services and a transitional living program. The organization serves children and adults ages 21 and younger.
Despite the affluence of Frisco and Collin County, Scichili said homelessness is a growing problem, especially amongst youth. City House aided 162 clients in its emergency shelter last year.
The number of homeless people in Frisco has increased in recent years, Scichili said.
"We're committed to Frisco because the numbers have gone up significantly over the past 10 years," he said.
Scichili said this issue is a natural effect of the growing population in Collin County. He also said homelessness numbers are shifting to suburbs, such as Frisco, because major corporations are moving out of larger cities and into smaller cities. Workers follow the big corporations and can add to homeless numbers if they lose their jobs.
But many of the homeless youth in Collin County are not a result of financial issues, Scichili said.
"The common denominator in today's homes across the United States is conflict," he said. "Mom and dad are going to butt heads with the teenager."
This can lead to children either being kicked out of the house or running away from home, he said. Many of these children will couch surf, temporarily staying at a friend or relative's house.
If a child comes to City House's emergency shelter, shelter employees will notify Child Protective Services so the agency can conduct an investigation, Scichili said. Other times CPS will bring a child to the shelter because he or she has been removed from an abusive home.
The purpose of the emergency shelter, which is called My Friend's House, is to help children move into a permanent living situation, either back in the home or into foster care, Scichili said.
In a runaway situation, the children and parents can use City House's counseling services to try to mend the home situation. Families can also see a counselor to address problems in the home and prevent the child from running away. City House provides eight free counseling sessions to families or individuals.
For young adults ages 18 to 21, City House offers a transitional living program to help homeless adults support themselves. There are currently three houses that host the transitional living program: two for women in Plano and Frisco and one for men in Plano. Scichili said City House plans to add another house for men this year in Frisco.
Individuals in the transitional living program attend life skills classes and must either attend school or have a job while living in the house.
Scichili said the best way to support City House is to either donate to or volunteer for the organization.
"We've had a lot of luck and a lot of great people who have gone through here, and it's helped us survive 26 years and thrive," he said. "We're really impacting a lot of kids because of it."
