Celebrating the opening of their fifth transitional living program in the Puget Sound, non-profit Friends of Youth welcomed Kirkland residents and elected officials to an Oct. 15 luncheon and tour of the newly renovated facility.

Named “New Ground Kirkland,” the interim housing facility is a 9,200 square-foot apartment complex at 11005 N.E. 68th St. and dedicated to helping up to six homeless and at-risk youth between the ages of 18 to 21 years old.

Presiding over the ribbon-cutting ceremony were Kirkland Mayor Jim Lauinger, King County Council member Jane Hague and State Rep. Ross Hunter (D-Bellevue).

“What’s remearkable is we have the (New Ground Kirkland Transitional House) integrated into our neighborhood,” Lauinger said. “Kirkland’s looking out for our youth.”

Participants in the program are expected to become self-sufficient and emotionally stable through counseling and career/educational guidance services. In addition, the building is monitored by an on-site Friends of Youth residential coordinator. The New Ground program “offers a hand up, not a hand out,” according to their Web site.

An estimated 2,000 children and teenagers in King County are homeless — half of them are escaping violence in the home, while nearly 80 percent have been sexually abused or assaulted.

Earlier this summer, residential builders The Burnsteads brought around 75 volunteers to aid the renovation effort, saving thousands of dollars in labor and construction contracting.

Friends of Youth, which also operates the Kirkland Teen Union Building on Kirkland Avenue, relies on federal, state and local grants and fees to support the majority of their operations. In 2007, the non-profit spent 83 percent of their $6.8 million budget on various services helping 12,700 young people in King and Snohomish counties get their lives “back on the right track.”

More information is available at www.FriendsofYouth.org, or by phone at 425-869-6490.