"Rod's House" Facing Challenges

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Story Published: Sep 10, 2007 at 5:53 PM PST

By Valerie Hurst

"At school you do something throw it away this, 20 years from now you drive by, 'I worked on that'"

It's a project unlike anything YVTech students have worked on before.

For about a year now, Michael Layton and his friends have worked on the South Naches Ave house, tearing down walls and rebuilding the foundation, with local kids in mind.

"Even in this class you got guys with troubles at home whatnot you really don't know what to tell'em, this would be a good spot, 'Hey i know a place you can go to talk to people.'"

The center's a place for kids who don't want to go home--or don't have a home.
Organizers say there's several hundred of those teens out there.
They renamed the center "Rod's house' after a local man who helped found it.

'So if they say they're going to Rod's house that's not as if they're having to say I'm going to the shelter now or I'm going to the resource center to get help,'" says organizer Barb Grecco.

Help like someone to talk to, a place to take a shower, to get a good meal.
But offering that help has been delayed.
By design, the center's in one of Yakima's tougher neighborhoods.

"You know somebody's already tried to back the screws out of the plywood that I put in there," remarks Dan Garcia. He's the carpentry instructor for YVTech students working on the project.

Organizers have put up with kicked-in doors and graffiti.
But they wont let it discourage them, because the very kids who are causing trouble at rod's house are the kids organizers hope to help.

"We figure if we're a good neighbor here that will inspire everyone else to be a good neighbor as well," says Grecco.

Rod's house is now expected to open sometime next June.
Its progress is completely dependent on the generosity of local businesses and the community.
An air conditioner and furnace are still needed.

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