A couple who have been taking in troubled teenagers for the past seven years have been notified by the organization that owns the home they must vacate the property to make room for the Unaccompanied Alien Children (UAC) streaming across the U.S. southern border.
The non-profit group, Friends of Youth, notified Edmundo Serena Sanchez and his wife, Paual, in February they would have to move out of the home, located on its campus in Kirkland, Washington.
“We partner with youth and families to provide the relationships, resources, and skills they need to attain personal growth and success,” the Friends of Youth website states.
But now the organization has other goals in mind, Seattle-based King 5 media reported:
“Friends of Youth has reviewed our organizational goals this past year, and we have chosen to pursue a different strategic vision,” stated a January 29 letter from the organization.
The letter said the house would be used “…to provide a different scope of services in support of unaccompanied youth.”
DeAnn Adams, chief program officer for Friends of Youth, told KING 5 the organization saw a new revenue stream from the federal government’s Office of Refugee Resettlement and decided to use the Howard’s House to house illegal alien youth.
Serena Sanchez said the decision has devastated his family, including one child who was hospitalized for panic attacks and another who ran away from home and has not been located.
“I worry very much about him because he’s 16 years old and he doesn’t have a job,” said Serena Sanchez, adding that he and his wife decided to foster the 20 teens they’ve had in their home because it is hard to find families for older children with behavioral issues.
King 5 reached out to Washington State Rep. Michelle Caldier, who was a foster child, is a foster parent, and has sponsored legislation to help the foster care sector.
“Why on earth are they allowing this to happen to our most vulnerable youth?” Caldier said. “It’s wrong.”
“There’s a reason as to why they are choosing to go with the unaccompanied minors and change their program,” Caldier said. “They tend to chase the dollars.”
“It was just senseless,” Serena Sanchez said. “Everything they did was irresponsible.”
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