Westerville Rotary Club starts project to help curb homelessness for young people
WESTERVILLE, Ohio (WCMH) — The Rotary Club of Westerville is making an effort to support young people at risk of experiencing homelessness by making a significant contribution to another organization to create a program and drop-in center.
This project is about providing necessary resources and access to the youth, hoping it will instill their trust in adults and the surrounding community, so they know help is near.
'Knowing that there are now resources available that we as a rotary club can tap into and elevate, for me just really hits, it hits very deeply,' said Brandy Deichert, President of the Rotary Club of Westerville. 'I know they're suffering out there.'
The Rotary Club of Westerville donated over $32,000 to the Westerville Youth Connection. The funds will support the development of a new drop-in center called 'The Launch Pad,', which will provide a safe space and critical services for young people ages 14 to 24.
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'We just want to give young people, young adults, the tools and resources they need to be successful and to be able to be to return that to the community,' Deichert said. 'And just have a positive effect in the community and in their circles.'
Those in need will be able to access food and hygiene supplies along with mental health resources, job readiness classes, and more. The idea for this project came out of conversations with the school district, as they raised concerns about the increasing number of students facing housing instability and food insecurity. For Westerville Youth Connection Board Member Katrina Plourde, this experience hits close to home.
'I have some family members who were youths that were staying in a hotel and homeless, and it just breaks your heart to see the trauma that that creates,' Plourde said. 'I just want students to know that their support for them.'
Though the center doesn't have a location currently, the group has been in conversations with Otterbein University about a potential location. Overall, they hope addressing this issue will uplift and encourage the young people in our community.
'I want everyone to know that the resources are here,' Plourde said. 'we just need to bring it together and we need to let the people who are looking for help know that it's going to be here for them.'
Deichert noted they have an overall monetary goal of $400,000, and they hope to open by the beginning of the next school year.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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