A brochure for the non-profit KATS Inc., Keeping Area Teens Safe. (Photo courtesy of KATS Inc. and Dave Kallaway)
WAUSAU, WI (WSAU) — A new local non-profit is opening a homeless shelter for kids and teens in Central Wisconsin.
KATS Inc. stands for Keeping Area Teens Safe and is hoping to help that cause by opening a youth shelter care facility. The new youth homeless shelter will be able to house up to 8 kids between the ages of 12-17 and opens on March 15th.
KATS Inc. Director Kathleen Buckli told WIFC’s Kallaway on the Rise that the non-profit is working on getting the word out to kids in the area. “We are really working with a local printing company developing information that is easily obtained by the kids and is geared towards kids. It’s not our campaign pamphlet, this will pull kids in. We’ll have a hotline that they can call us.
“We are open 24/7, so they’ll be able to call us at any time. The house is staffed 24/7, all they have to do is call our number which will be posted all over. We’ll have small cards that they can just slip in their pockets or someone can discretely hand to them. Just something small to keep it discrete because a lot of these kids, this isn’t an easy thing for them. They can be embarrassed. Their self-esteem can be affected. So it’ll be a nice handy card that anybody can hand to a kid in need at any time,”.
Buckli explains that kids who come to the shelter will be able to stay for anywhere between 20 to 30 days. In that time frame, she says lots of factors will be considered to put a plan together to help the child secure a long-term, safe living environment. “It is really going to take that amount of time to get not only medical but therapy set up, possibly get them back into the school system.
“If that isn’t an option what are the alternatives to continuing their education. Is it a GED, is it a child who has chosen to just drop out of school entirely. Well then, how is that child going to support themselves. Looking for employment, looking for a home where they take children under the age of 18 that’s for long-term care. Making sure services are set up. Work on the family relationship. We will have family meetings. Helping with the progress of that child and what the plan looks like. And 30 days sounds in some respect like a lot, but it really isn’t,”.
When asked what items the shelter needs from the community, Buckli stressed not only basic needs but also items that make kids feel like life is normal. Buckli recommends things like YMCA passes, ice cream, or art supplies.
KATS Inc. homeless shelter will open on March 15th at 1115 Hillcrest Avenue in Wausau. The Hillcrest House is on a bus line across from a park and a church to allow easy access for the teens. The non-profit has also partnered with North Central Health Care to provide youth psychiatric hospital services.
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