Some crucial services for at-risk teens in Kootenai County are about to go extinct.

Volunteers of America of Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho announced Wednesday that due to a lack of funding it is closing the doors of Crosswalk North Idaho, a youth drop-in center and outreach program based in Coeur d'Alene. Then on Thursday, Idaho Youth Ranch revealed that it will discontinue providing residential drug and alcohol treatment for teen boys at its Anchor House program in Coeur d'Alene.

Crosswalk North Idaho, formerly known as Project Safe Place, has been serving local youths for the last 12 years. Located in the basement of the St. Vincent de Paul H.E.L.P. Center, 201 E. Harrison Ave., Crosswalk has offered immediate help and supportive resources for kids and teens who are often at risk of separating from their families or becoming homeless, lacking safe transportation or after-school supervision, being abused at home, struggling in school or being bullied in school. Because of Crosswalk, many Kootenai County youths have had a safe place to go where they've had access to clothing, food, crisis intervention, homework help and employment readiness training.

"We have tried everything to make it work," said VOA CEO Marilee Roloff.

The North Idaho program served 162 adolescents in the past fiscal year, but lost its federal funding two years ago, then reapplied and was turned down again.

Roloff said VOA in Spokane partnered with Project Safe Place in 2004 to start a Crosswalk program in North Idaho because many youths from Coeur d'Alene were going to Spokane seeking services.

"It's been a struggle and the local donations have gone down in the last few years," Roloff said. "We just felt like, at some point, we have to pull this plug. It's heartbreaking."

A similar program has existed in Spokane since 1985, and that program will continue. Roloff said VOA has shared "the vast percentage of grants" with the North Idaho program, but without the federal funding, it has no other options.

Holly Zack, the last remaining Crosswalk staff member in North Idaho, has served the program as an employee or volunteer for the last five years. At one time, she was also a client.

"This is the program that positively impacted my youth...then to be able to come back as an employee, that was super-meaningful for me," Zack said. "It made such a difference for me, and I know it would have made a difference for other youth."

Zack said for many of the adolescents who seek services at Crosswalk, the loss of the program will be devastating. Not only will they lose access to food and clothing, they won't have meaningful relationships with Crosswalk staff.

"These are some of the first positive interactions these kids have had with adults," Zack said.

She said that for most of the youth who attend Crosswalk North Idaho, it will also mean no holiday parties or other fun events.

"The things they get at our Christmas party, that might be the only gifts these kids get," she said.

Zack is encouraging anyone who wants to help to consider donating some of the things the Crosswalk kids will no longer have access to when the program ends: toiletries, perishable food items, winter apparel, undergarments and socks. Items can be dropped off between 1 and 6 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Fridays through June 26, the last day they will serve kids. Staff will be leaving the space at the H.E.L.P. Center on June 29 and 30.

"If anyone brought things in on those days, I would drive it to the kids' houses, " Zack said.

At Anchor House, program director Greg Orlando said Idaho Youth Ranch isn't closing down operations in North Idaho, but rather transitioning to a more locally focused family resource center. The nonprofit is poised to begin offering a variety of outpatient services - family counseling, group and individual therapy, help with behavioral issues and substance abuse education and prevention - at the big white house on Government Way.

The decision to move away from a residential program was not driven by financial issues, but based in large part, Orlando said, on a needs assessment commissioned by Idaho Youth Ranch.

"The overwhelming response is that this community needs more family support at an earlier time, so families can be impacted before a residential program is needed or before their situation comes to the attention of Health and Welfare or law enforcement," he said.

Since 1983, Anchor House has provided residential services for adolescent boys. Orlando said over the last three years, less than 50 percent of the boys served by Anchor House have been from Idaho's five northern counties.

"And half of those kids are from Kootenai County," he said.

The change will result in the loss of jobs for 11 Anchor House employees who Orlando describes as "great, dedicated employees."

He said when he told the boys now living at Anchor House, he expected them to be concerned about who will do their discharge planning or help them get other things they need.

"But they said, 'You can't do that. This has saved our lives,'" Orlando said. "It's a heart-breaker."

With the closure of Anchor House's residential program, there will be no residential program in North Idaho available for kids with substance abuse-specific issues. There are still several programs in southern Idaho that will take teens from throughout the state.

"We're going to be providing a pretty wide network of services, but we're still going to have that heart for substance abuse, knowing that a lot of kids coming in are going to be at least experimenting or at-risk of substance abuse, so we can provide intervention at that point and provide education to the families who need it as we're giving the family services," Orlando said.

Idaho Youth Ranch will also be offering equine therapy services through its Coeur d'Alene office. Animal-assisted therapy has been greatly successful in helping troubled youth, Orlando said.

For more information about Anchor House and Idaho Youth Ranch, call (208) 947-0863 ext. 1002.

To reach Crosswalk North Idaho, call (208) 676-0772.