Editor's note: The original version of this story had information about future plans to move to a different location. The YCC's director said those plans have changed because staff and the youth like the current downtown location.
The YouthConnect Center has been open in downtown Springfield less than nine months and has already served nearly 250 youth who were either homeless, unstably housed or at-risk of becoming homeless.
The YCC, as it’s often called, provided clothing more than 300 times and given out 276 bags of groceries to youth, according to director Erin Washburn.
On an average afternoon, about 15 youth will come to the center located at 425 W. McDaniel St., Washburn said.
They can do laundry, take a shower, get a hot meal and to-go food, clothing, hygiene products, as well as wrap-around services like housing and connection to health care providers. They can also hang out in a safe place, watch movies or play video games.
The YCC is a drop-in center for youth ages 13-18 and is open 1-8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 3-8 p.m. on Mondays (summer hours).
The Daily Citizen stopped by the YCC last week to visit with the youth, but agreed to not publish their names or identifying photos to protect their privacy.
New wheels for new opportunities
An 18-year-old man from Kansas City said he’d come to Springfield with a friend about two weeks ago. Since he is unfamiliar with services in Springfield, he feels lucky to find the YCC.
“They gave me some food and some clothes,” the young man said. “They do a good job of, like, supporting me with things I don’t know. Any questions that I ask, if they don’t know, they will research it for me.”
He said he’s applied for three jobs so far in the short time he’s been in Springfield. On this particular night, the young man said he came to the YCC and was surprised by something YCC staff had obtained for him.
“They got me that bike right there,” he said, smiling and pointing to a gently-used blue bike leaning against the wall. “I came in and she goes, ‘We got you a bike.’ I’ll use it to go to work.”
He said he hopes to find a warehouse job that will allow him to work overtime and save some money. One day, he’d like to be a football coach. Like many youth who find themselves unsheltered or unstably housed, the young man said he grew up in foster care and recently “aged out” of the system.
The YCC is operated by FosterAdopt Connect, a nonprofit agency that offers several programs for foster and adoptive families, the children in foster care and youth who are aging out of the foster care system.
The young man said he feels like the staff at the YCC understand what he’s been through and the challenges he faces as he tries to “build a foundation” in Springfield.
“The foster system — there’s so many broken people,” he said. “And when you don’t feel loved, it’s very hard to love yourself.”
The young man said he had been staying with a woman, but they got into an argument and she told him to leave. He wasn’t sure where he would spend the night.
“I’ll figure it out,” he said. “I’ll be alright.”
Weekly addiction support group for youth
When the YCC opened last fall, the center had 14 partner agencies planning to provide services at the center including Springfield Public Schools, Burrell Behavioral Health, Jordan Valley Community Health, Boys and Girls Club, Greene County Children’s Division, Greene County Juvenile Office and Community Partnership of the Ozarks.
Since opening, Washburn said they’ve added programs and services based on what they hear from the youth. The number of partner agencies providing services at the YCC has grown to more than 20.
The YCC now hosts a weekly addiction and sobriety support group called Recovery Dharma.
“They have an adult group here in town. We reached out to the adult group and asked if they’d be interested in doing a youth group,” Washburn said. “So they started the first youth group here.”
Washburn said Recovery Dharma is planning to expand the youth recovery group to other agencies, “because the youth have been asking for sobriety support outside of AA that was more youth-focused, where they didn’t have to sit with adults to receive that support.”
Serving pregnant girls, young parents
Other services and programs the YCC has added since opening focus on pregnant girls and young parents.
“Everything was super teen friendly,” Washburn said, “and then we had teens come in with babies and toddlers.
“We’ve added parenting classes,” she said. “We’ve added providing diapers to our parenting youth, and then just keeping a pack-and-play on hand, keeping some younger toys and books on hand for them to be occupied while their parents are coming in and getting whatever services they need.”
One young lady who was at the YCC in mid-June said she participated in the pregnancy classes in 2022. They talked about nutrition and what to expect with delivery, she said. A southwest Missouri family adopted the baby and the young woman still gets to visit her baby.
She recently turned 19, so staff at the YCC is helping her get connected to service providers that work with adults. The young lady said she comes to the YCC to get food and do laundry. She and her boyfriend have a place to live now, but they are struggling with money.
“They help out a lot,” she said. “You feel welcomed here.”
She first came to Springfield in 2022 after she ran away from home in Florida.
“It was not the smartest choice,” she said of running away. “I’m happy now, and my dad knows where I am. We still talk and stuff.
“I was just a child,” she added. “But I would take it back if I could.”
Two downtown drop-in centers partner to meet needs
The YCC is located less than two blocks from The Kitchen’s Rare Breed Youth Outreach Center, which offers services for youth up to age 24.
Washburn said the YCC is often able to partner with Rare Breed and sometimes winds up referring youth and young adults to the age-appropriate center.
“We share resources with them. We share clients,” she said of Rare Breed. “Sometimes we are able to call down and ask them if they can provide it or we do a trade out. There was a day that we needed maxi pads and they needed shampoo. We swapped and we all got what we needed.”
Want to help?
The YCC needs volunteers to drop off hot meals for dinner.
The center also needs donations of gently used clothing, shoes, new underwear, hygiene items, and to-go food items.
To sign up to make meals, donate items and/or volunteer, visit the YouthConnect Center’s website.
Monetary donations to the YCC can be dropped off at the center or mailed to FosterAdopt Connect at 509 S. Cavalier Ave, Springfield, MO 65802 (designate the YouthConnect Center).
