PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Family YMCA will close the Y House teen drop-in center at the end of August.
A budget shortfall led to the YMCA board’s decision on Wednesday, said Steve Charno, board president, on Thursday.
“This decision was not applauded by anyone,” Charno said.
“It was just the best out of a whole lot of really awful alternatives.”
The Y House is a free center for at-risk teens at 302 S. Francis St., across the alley from the YMCA at Third and Francis streets.
About 20 to 50 teens drop-in each day during the center’s hours between 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., said the center’s director, Karen Toth.
Some programs now at the Y House, such as the young people’s Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous groups, will be continued, said executive director Dan Maquire.
“Primarily it is the drop-in feature of the Y House that we will be losing,” Maguire said.
It was the first budget shortfall in Maguire’s memory.
“Unfortunately, the best way to do that is to cut a program, which isn’t bringing anything in,” he said.
Maguire said that no one took the decision lightly, but that the program was selected partly because of its size.
“Compared to the number of teens we serve with the sports programs and the art programs, the number is rather small,” he said.
