'We can't let this happen': Youth shelter might close if funding gap isn't filled

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A youth shelter that provides basic needs, emergency shelter and mental health services for kids on Milwaukee's south side might have to shut down.

This, after the executive director of Walker's Point Youth and Family Shelter tells us they didn't receive their regular federal funding.

"When the news broke about what was happening here, I had young people reaching, saying we absolutely could not lose this place," said Audra O'Connell, executive director of Walker's Point Youth and Family Shelter.

Walker's Point Youth and Family Shelter has been serving the Milwaukee area since 1976.

"We are talking about half of the youth shelter beds in Milwaukee County, so if we shut down, we are going to be left with eight shelter beds," said O'Connell.

O'Connell says the 11- to 17-year-olds that come to the shelter are often in desperate need.

"Sometimes kids come to us and they're exhausted because they have been running or walking. They're coming to us with the clothes on their back that they have been wearing for days or weeks," said O'Connell.

For a mom of three, Judith O'Neil says the shelter has become a safe space for her kids.

"It's a very warm and welcoming place. Most recently, actually, I dropped my daughter off for her therapy session. I went inside, and she spent her whole entire session baking with her therapist. She also has her therapy session, but she baked, so that's not something you can get at a conventional therapist office," said O'Neil.

O'Neil says losing the shelter would not only be tough for her kids, but all the kids in the Milwaukee area that rely on its services.

"I think they know that if they were to be in crisis, that that's a safe place they could go, and they know people already there. It's not the same as going into crisis and ending up in the hospital or ending up in the ER, which is what happens in Milwaukee County," said O'Neil.

O'Connell says if they don't raise $200,000 by Dec. 31 they might be forced to close their doors.

"We will take any donation, but also I think it's helpful to just contact your local elected officials and let them know this is important to you," O'Connell explained.

O'Connell says she's also working with the city of Milwaukee to try and get funding.

To donate and learn more about the shelter, click here.