Jessica Mathews / April O'Neil / news@whmi.com


A local non-profit that serves runaway and homeless youth will be receiving funding to help offset losses during the pandemic.

A committee of the Livingston County Board of Commissioners met Monday night and approved ARPA funding for various projects – which is federal COVID-related funding.

One was the Livingston Family Center - a non-profit that provides emergency shelter, crisis intervention, prevention services, and mental health counseling to youth ages 11-22 and their families who are homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.

The Livingston Family Center originally requested $20,000 for the purpose of replacing the roof at the agency's emergency youth shelter and the abatement of an area of asbestos found in an area of the shelter. During the meeting, the Committee unanimously approved an amended resolution for an increased amount of $23,560.

During the pandemic, the Center experienced an overall decrease in donated funds to the agency's runaway and homeless youth program, The Connection Youth Services. Due to the nature of the essential services provided by the program - emergency shelter, homeless prevention, and mental health intervention to youth and their families – the Family Center also experienced a significant increase in the amount of funds spent on an inventory of unanticipated supplies such as PPE and cleaning products etc.

The resolution will be before the full board for final approval on Monday, May 22nd.