'A huge step forward'
Vanessa Moos, chief executive officer of Children’s Village, addresses the crowd during a groundbreaking for a new resource center Thursday. She is joined by, from left, Melissa Kirk, Kootenai County probation officer, Jackson Lanterman, Juvenile Justice Outreach, Loni Whiteman, Kootenai County juvenile probation supervisor, and Rosa Mettler, Children's Village chief operations officer.
Rosa Mettler, chief operations officer for Children’s Village, wears hard hat for Thursday's groundbreaking of a resource center.
An artist's rendering at Thursday's groundbreaking depicts the resource center to be constructed at Children's Village by StanCraft Construction Group.
COEUR d’ALENE — A 5,000-square-foot resource center at Children’s Village had a simple start.
“We drew this on a napkin when we started dreaming and somehow here we are,” said Vanessa Moos, chief executive officer of Children’s Village.
The ink on that napkin led to a groundbreaking before about 50 people on a chilly Thursday morning.
Juvenile justice members from probation, outreach and diversion, officials with StanCraft Construction Group and Architects West and others came out for the short ceremony for a project that is expected to have lasting impact.
“We’re all coming together to really stand up for these kids,” said Rosa Mettler, chief operations officer for Children’s Village.
The multi-agency resource center, referred to as "The Village" will give families in crisis immediate access to resources.
It will be staffed by representatives of youth mental health, including school districts and county and city departments.
The Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections granted $1.5 million to Children’s Village for the project that is being built on vacant land.
It will have an additional entry point off Hanley Avenue “to provide this service while also protecting the sanctity of the private campus for resident youth.”
Construction could be finished by year's end.
Funding came from the voter-approved 2021 state fund by Gov. Brad Little to increase youth crisis resources across the state.
Children’s Village is described as “a trauma-responsive safe haven, restoring trust and hope for children and families who experience abuse, neglect or are in crisis.”
It offers a full-time residential facility. Current services include short-term respite and emergency shelter free of charge to community families, in addition to a federally accredited residential treatment program for youth in foster care.
Moos said the grant created an opportunity for Children’s Village to do even more.
The funds are an investment in children and their futures.
“We feel we can do a lot more for our community, and that’s what this building will be,” Moos said.
A goal is to "divert children and families from the juvenile justice system and Department of Health and Welfare through early intervention and support."
She added that while funding is important, the work at Children’s Village “is about breaking the cycle of second- and third-generation dysfunction.”
The new resource center will be part of that effort to keep kids safe and in school.
“We can all do better. We can all keep teaching and growing and asking the right questions,” Moos said.
Jackson Lanterman is with Juvenile Justice Outreach, a local nonprofit that works closely with juvenile probation. The faith-based organization will be very involved in the center’s operations.
“There’s a huge need in our community to serve the at-risk and low-income folks that oftentimes get forgotten,” Lanterman said. “This facility is a huge step forward in taking better care of those people.”
