Evergreen Youth & Family Services has received a $8,000 grant from the AT&T Foundation to help support a crisis shelter for youth who are experiencing homelessness within the Bemidji area.

The grant will be used to support the shelter’s daily meal program for youth. The Evergreen shelter serves at least three meals and two snacks daily, every day of the year, to approximately 275 youth who stay at the shelter. The shelter staff prepares healthy meals in their commercial kitchen and serves the meals to youth with a “family style” in residence. All food is purchased from local grocery stores, meat markets, and from the North Country Food Bank.

“Our mission is to strengthen youth, preserve families, and build relationships across northern Minnesota. We work hard to provide a welcoming, safe and supportive home away from home for those youth in our area who are experiencing an immediate personal or family crisis,0” said Ebony Warren, Executive Director of Evergreen Youth & Family Services. “Part of that is providing healthy meals and snacks for our youth. We are pleased to receive this AT&T Foundation grant that will support our shelter’s food budget into next fall.”

The Evergreen’s Youth Crisis Shelter also provides emergency shelter, food, clothing and personal hygiene supplies to youth of ages 9-17 who stay at the shelter. The shelter serves 15 rural counties within Northwest Minnesota, where homelessness, continues to be higher-when it comes to children and youth. The Evergreen shelter is said to be the only early intervention crisis shelter for both runaway and homeless youth, as well as high-risk youth and their families within the North Central and Northwestern rural areas of Minnesota.

“AT&T Foundation is proud to support Evergreen Youth & Family Services and its mission to help youth experiencing homelessness in the Bemidji area,” said Paul Weirtz, president of AT&T Minnesota. “The Evergreen Shelter not only provides a safe home away from home, but also supports the overall health, school attendance and performance of youth in need.”

By — Emma Hudziak