South King County Youth Shelter (SKYS)

Auburn Youth Resources’ South King County Youth Shelter (SKYS) is a nine-bed, state licensed, emergency shelter for children who are homeless, living on the streets, or having difficulty at home.  The shelter serves youth 10-17 years old.

The shelter serves a dual role as a 15-day emergency shelter placement and as an interim care facility for children referred through the Division of Child & Family Services. SKYS provides services for families in-crisis and in need of temporary placement for their children during a family crisis. In addition, SKYS provides temporary emergency shelter for runaway and homeless youth. The SKYS’ team works with each child to develop a placement plan that meets their individual needs. The goal of the program is to stabilize children in crisis and facilitate their return to their family home or to a safe and supportive alternative home.

SKYS offers comprehensive services including individual, group and family counseling, substance abuse  treatment  and case management services. A trained multidisciplinary team is dedicated to providing quality care for children in our residential facilities. Placement referrals are accepted around the clock.

It is our belief that children should be given the opportunity to grow and progress to the fullest of their potential. SKYS utilizes a positive youth  development model that focuses on interpersonal relationships and encourages young people and their families to utilize their strengths and abilities to move forward with their lives by taking constructive courses of action. Call 253-735-3582 for further information.

Severson Program

The Severson Program is a seven-unit, transitional scattered site housing program located in Auburn, WA. The program is designed to help homeless young adults’ ages 18-24 make the transition from experiencing homelessness on the streets to permanent housing. The Severson Program blends scattered site housing, case management, and independent living skills to assist young adult’s transition to independent living. The focus of the program is for young adults to develop educational, life and job skills to help them become responsible, productive, and independent adults. Young people are encouraged to be enrolled in an educational program and to attain GED certification. Further educational development in the form of vocational training or college is also encouraged.

To enhance their job skills, young adults are required to work at least part-time while in the program. A strong emphasis is also placed on life skill development. Young adults are taught many basic life skills from cooking and cleaning to writing a resume and balancing a check book. With these skills, participants who access this program must be willing to meet with case managers on a consistent basis to develop and track goal plans, set budgets to ensure rent and other expenses are managed as well as pursue mainstream benefits. Combined with this intensive case management service, referrals to mental health counseling provide individual, family and group counseling for individuals as needed.  In addition, through external referral, participants can access substance abuse counselors who provide prevention and treatment services.  Call 253-804-8866 for further information.