YouthCare’s shelters offer young people immediate safety from the streets and the elements. Young people can stay for short periods of time while they work with supportive staff to either find housing or reunify with their family. YouthCare provides short-term shelter for youth, ages 12-17, and young adults, ages 18-24.

Under-18 Shelter & Services

Adolescent Shelter

Adolescent Shelter is a twelve-bed shelter for youth ages 12-17 who are experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or family conflict, or who are state-dependent and awaiting a foster care placement. The shelter provides nurturing trauma-informed care while working to reunify youth with their families or guardians or find safe and stable long-term housing.

Paul G. Allen Hope Center

The Hope Center opened in 2016 following a landmark gift from the Paul G. Allen Foundation. This fourteen-bed shelter doubled the number of shelter beds for youth ages 12-17 in Seattle. Like the Adolescent Shelter, the Hope Center serves youth who are experiencing homelessness, housing instability, or family conflict, or who are state-dependent and awaiting a foster care placement. The Hope Center provides nurturing trauma-informed care while working to reunify youth with their families or guardians or find safe and stable long-term housing.

Casa de los Amigos (Casa)

Casa is a multi-bed shelter for unaccompanied, undocumented youth ages 12-17. Casa is supported by the Division of Unaccompanied Minors at the Federal Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). The majority of Casa’s youth are fleeing war, gang violence, human trafficking, and extreme poverty. Many of their families have been shattered by bloodshed. They arrive at Casa de los Amigos with next to nothing. Together, we work toward the goal of reuniting them with family. While they are with YouthCare, each young person receives customized supports including legal assistance, case management, physical and mental health care, and bilingual education.

Over-18 Shelter

South Seattle Youth Center

Offering both day and night services, South Seattle Youth Center (formerly named Jackson Street) is dedicated to creating an inclusive and culturally responsive community for all young people wanting to take steps in their lives toward permanency and stability. When South Seattle Youth Center first opened its doors, it piloted a new model for shelter. Instead of receiving a nightly bed via a lottery system, young people were guaranteed a bed for up to ninety days while they worked on their goals. The model worked: rather than focusing on where they were going to sleep that night—which contributed to further instability—young people were able to build community, focus on next steps, and achieve their goals. Currently, eighteen of South Seattle Youth Center’s beds are guaranteed beds while two beds are emergency beds for young people who need a safe and immediate place to sleep.