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Broadway Youth Center Halts Search for Permanent Location

By Serena Dai | June 5, 2013 7:57am
 Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 615 W. Wellington Ave., will house Broadway Youth Center for one year, starting in June 2013.
Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 615 W. Wellington Ave., will house Broadway Youth Center for one year, starting in June 2013.
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DNAinfo/Serena Dai

LAKEVIEW — The Broadway Youth Center has hopped from one temporary location to another as parent organization Howard Brown put the search for a permanent location on the backburner.

The non-profit health services program has moved to the Wellington Avenue United Church of Christ, 615 W. Wellington Ave., under a year-long contract, said spokesman David Dodd.

Howard Brown has been looking for a more permanent space for the Broadway Youth Center since it outgrew a space on Broadway near Belmont in December. It's been split between the Howard Brown offices at 3837 N. Broadway Ave. and the Broadway United Methodist Church, 3338 N. Broadway Ave. until this week.

The center offers services for people ages 12 to 24, from HIV/STI testing to counseling and social support.

Previously, the youth center expected to be in a permanent location by this year, according to reports. But Dodd said Howard Brown wants to go through an overall strategic planning process involving the Affordable Care Act before moving forward on a permanent location.

With changes in health care law, Broadway Youth Center may see some changes, he said. It doesn't necessarily mean it will offer fewer services, Dodd said, but the new way the center is run could potentially impact how a space is "built out."

He would not elaborate further on a potential new, permanent space for the center.

When looking for temporary spaces like the ones at local churches, Howard Brown considered the safety of the location and the size, he said. The center serves nearly 4,000 people each year.

"It’s always just about us finding the right place and delivering services the way we deliver them," he said.