HUNTINGTON BEACH : Shelter for Runaways Dedicated

The Huntington Youth Shelter for homeless and runaway young people, the largest such facility in Orange County, was dedicated Thursday by County Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder and other officials.

About 1,000 volunteers and advocates for the homeless have put finishing touches on the renovation of an historic house in a corner of Central Park that will serve as a haven for up to 18 youngsters, ages 11 to 17.

The 4,000-square-foot facility will have boys’ and girls’ sections, nine bedrooms and 24-hour supervision when it begins operating, probably before the year’s end.

Currently, shelters throughout Orange County have bed space for just 26 youngsters, according to Susan Oakson, director of the Orange County Homeless Issues Task Force. The Huntington Youth Shelter will provide “a huge increase” in services, she said.

It will be a place where the youths who run away or are expelled by their own parents can become reattached to their families, she said.

Merritt Weiss, the shelter’s executive director, said that, while no accurate records are kept, perhaps as many as 7,000 children run away from home in Orange County each year. Huntington Beach probably draws a large share of them because beach cities are magnets for runaway youngsters from other areas, she said.

The shelter’s professional staff will offer guidance, early intervention to keep youngsters out of the juvenile justice system, life skills such as cooking and laundry, and counseling for both youngsters and parents wanting to be reunited.

Maximum stay will be two weeks.

Carol Kanode, a school nurse at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach and a trustee in the Ocean View School District, and Irene Briggs, a county child protection services supervisor, have been seeking community support for a youth shelter since 1987.

Kanode said Thursday that the two women launched the drive for the shelter after an Ocean View student told her that she had no place to live after her mother moved away without leaving an address.

The girl said she took to the streets, becoming a prostitute and selling drugs, Kanode related. Kanode enlisted Briggs’ help to place the girl in a foster home.

“I remember thinking that this is ridiculous,” Kanode said. “There needs to be something in the city for homeless youngsters.”

Kanode negotiated a 20-year lease with the city for $10 a year. The city also donated cash and a house that was occupied dating to the early 1900s. The city also built a street to the shelter.

Kanode’s husband, Erwin, and a neighbor, Forrest Miller, did preliminary construction work on the dilapidated building.

HomeAid Orange County, a charitable nonprofit housing corporation of the Building Industry Assn. that assists the homeless, adopted the project later and finished construction with about 1,000 volunteers, including framers, plumbers, electricians, architects and roofers. The contribution of labor and supplies is valued at about $500,000.

The shelter is awaiting a certificate of occupancy from the city so that an application can be filed for a community care residential license from the state.

The position of clinical director is yet to be filled. The shelter’s yearly operating costs are estimated at $400,000. Officials are counting on grants, donations and fund-raising efforts.