Since its founding 52 years ago, the Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County has helped at-risk youth from a hodgepodge of buildings scattered across the county.
On Wednesday the nonprofit celebrated its new building that will finally bring it all under one roof.
For decades it wasn’t much to look at. Just an undeveloped back entrance connecting a retail space to McKinley Avenue.
But today the site just west of the South Bend-Mishawaka border has pulled off an impressive feat, becoming a place of common ground for Democratic South Bend Mayor James Mueller and Republican Mishawaka Mayor Dave Wood.
After teasing each other a bit, the two mayors came together with county and state elected officials from both parties for a ribbon-cutting, marking the opening of the Youth Service Bureau’s new facility. The $8 million project drew funding from both cities, the county, the state, charitable foundations, and individual donors.
The Youth Service Bureau works to help at-risk teens, some who are homeless, some who are at-risk of homelessness, and all of whom are suffering some kind of trauma, like having addicted or incarcerated parents. They help with school, housing, social services and guidance.
Youth Service Bureau CEO Christina McGovern says having one facility will let the organization work more efficiently, which will enable it to serve more youth. Also for the first time, they’ll have a space for volunteers, a crucial part of their mission.
"Now we will have opportunities for the community to come and help us," McGovern said, "and really make sure that we're intervening at a time in a teen's life that is really critical. We're the really the only agency in this community that is focused on that particular population."
