Anchor House is changing, not closing

We're not closing our doors! The Idaho Youth Ranch is committed to North Idaho. For over 30 years our organization has been helping youth from this area through Anchor House, our family counseling services, Adoptions Program and at our Ranch. We have a history of adapting our programs as community needs change and that's our situation now. We're here to stay - we're simply changing our treatment focus at Anchor House.

Saturday's headline "Tough times for teens" portrayed the difficult and heartbreaking decisions that youth organization leaders must make when change involves the discontinuation of a service. This isn't a new phenomenon. To stay relevant and solvent, nonprofits must make these tough calls. With Anchor House, what we have decided to do, which got lost in the title of the article, is to change the type of service provided at Anchor House from a substance abuse treatment program for boys to a family counseling and resource center.

Every day we hear from parents who are struggling to find help, but have been told their child has to do something more serious before they can receive services. The changes we are making to the Anchor House program are designed to help these kids and families by intervening earlier, before problems escalate beyond control, and by making proven therapeutic services affordable. Most public resources are allocated to programs for kids who are in the "system." Our plan is to develop services that keep more kids out of the "system."

This decision wasn't made lightly. We continually assess the viability of our programs and have contemplated making a change at Anchor House due to the relatively low number of kids that can be served and its high cost. In 2013, we initiated a program/needs assessment that was conducted by an independent party for the purpose of helping us decide what program direction to take in the future. This assessment included confidential interviews with key individuals from the Coeur d'Alene area who were identified as having insights regarding the community, social needs and youth. The results of the assessment support this change.

We anticipate that our new focus will allow us to triple the number of youth and families we can help in North Idaho. All of our services will be enhanced through equine therapy services. To do this we are strengthening our partnership with the Mica Foundation. Through this relationship, Anchor House staff will oversee and support the equine and other therapeutic services offered at the Stables at Mica Meadows. We will be expanding our counseling services and seeking opportunities to partner with other youth organizations in order to help more North Idaho at-risk boys and girls and their families.

These are tough times for teens - tougher than I've ever witnessed in my 34-year career in youth services. I assure you that the Idaho Youth Ranch is committed to North Idaho and our changes will strengthen our presence and commitment. I hope we can count on your support to make this change a successful one.

Steve Woodworth is chief executive officer of Idaho Youth Ranch.