City soon to be home to drop-in center for youth facing housing insecurity

The new Waypoint drop-in center for area youth is expected to be ready to open next year. (Courtesy photo)

ROCHESTER - Waypoint, a nonprofit that seeks to set up a drop-in center for youth and young adults who have no permanent home, is now the owner of 3 Wallace St., which will be transformed into the first and only such facility in the Tri-City region.

The Center will serve as a welcoming space where young people, ages 12 - 23, can drop in for services, support, and basic needs relief, say Waypoint officials. It is expected to include free laundry facilities, showers, a food pantry, lockers, a clothing closet, grab and go meals, phone charging stations, computers, mail service, peer and therapeutic counseling and help with education, employment and case management supports.

According to Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago, one in 10 young adults age 18 to 25, and at least one in 30 adolescents 13 to 17, experiences some form of homelessness over the course of a year in America. It is estimated that approximately 14,000 - 15,000 youth will experience homelessness this year in New Hampshire. Before the pandemic began, Waypoint staff and partners in the community noticed a spike in youth and young adults who were unsheltered. Within the past year, Waypoint received 174 referrals in the Tri-City area alone, they say.

According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, a coordinated community response is critical to preventing and ending youth/young adult homelessness, with drop-in centers serving as catalysts for prevention, identification, and early intervention.

Leading up to this decision to establish a center in Rochester, Waypoint spent several months conducting research and focus groups with providers, youth, and community leaders in the area, many of whom played a key role in advocating for this center.

"Waypoint's youth drop-in center will be a game-changer for homeless youth in Rochester and surrounding towns," says Rochester City Councilor Palana Belken. "Their Seacoast Street Outreach Program already does tremendous work for our city and securing this location for a drop-in center will only further enhance Waypoint's ability to create a safe place for youth experiencing homelessness."

In New Hampshire, Waypoint is the sole provider of comprehensive services for youth experiencing homelessness, with sites in Manchester, Littleton, Concord, and 14 communities throughout the Seacoast and Tri-City region.

"This is part of a comprehensive, coordinated, and collaborative response to youth and young adult homelessness in NH" says Borja Alvarez de Toledo, president and CEO of Waypoint. "On behalf of Waypoint and all the youth we serve, we thank the community for supporting this change-making initiative for the young people of New Hampshire."

Waypoint will now renovate the space in hopes of opening the Center in early 2022.

For more info go to www.waypointnh.org.