Syracuse, N.Y. -- Booth House, a Syracuse emergency shelter for runaway and homeless teens, will move Thursday to a new location at 3624 Midland Ave. in a bigger home with room for more youngsters. The Salvation Army, which has operated the shelter for 30 years, will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility at 10 a.m. today. The agency has...
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Booth House, a Syracuse emergency shelter for runaway and homeless teens, will move Thursday to a new location at 3624 Midland Ave. in a bigger home with room for more youngsters.
The Salvation Army, which has operated the shelter for 30 years, will conduct a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility at 10 a.m. today. The agency has completed an $800,000 renovation and expansion of the house. It will have 20 beds, double the capacity of the building it is vacating on Furman Street.
Booth House provides shelter to about 250 youngsters annually, a number expected to increase at the new location, according to Tom Roshau, director of youth and juvenile justice programs at the Salvation Army.
The home has more space where teens can do their homework and watch TV, he said. It also has a backyard and outdoor basketball hoop, amenities not available at the old location. “You can actually go outside and play if you want to,” Roshau said.
The number of youngsters referred to Booth House is growing because school districts in Onondaga County are getting better at quickly identifying students who are runaways and homeless, he said.
Booth House serves children who leave home because of abuse, neglect, abandonment, parental conflict, substance abuse, mental health issues or behavior problems. It operates with city, county, state and United Way funding.