FARMINGTON – A group of more than two dozen church leaders, community service officials and concerned residents met Tuesday night to discuss the problem of teen homelessness in Franklin County.

The conference, held at Franklin Memorial Hospital, was arranged by Franklin County Refuge, a project aimed at providing assistance for homeless youths with long-term needs. Several speakers at the conference touched on the difficulties local kids face if they cannot go home.

“Right now there are no shelters in Franklin County designed to help homeless youths,” said the Rev. Steve Bracy, president of Refuge. “If a kid is willing to leave the area, the closest one they can go to is New Beginnings in Lewiston.”

Ernie Gurney of New Beginnings pointed out that homeless teenagers often resist changing school districts. “For some of these kids, school offers the only stable thing and the only real family in their lives.”

Getting general assistance can also be difficult to obtain for teenagers. Many agencies do not consider a person independent until 25 years of age. That means that a teen applying for aid with education or food might end up back in an unstable home.

According to statistics gathered by local crises agencies, 16 homeless and 24 at-risk youths received crisis services in Franklin County between January and July of this year. Of those reported, 31 percent were pregnant or taking care of children, and 68 percent had diagnosable mental health issues. “Some of them really didn’t know what they were going to do or where they were going to sleep,” Bracy said.

Bracy is pastor at the Living Waters Assembly of God, a small church in Strong that has been the primary force behind Franklin County Refuge. “We have spent a whole year getting nonprofit status and filling all the legal requirements; now we are ready to do something.”

When asked what the project needs most, Bracy had an answer ready: “Volunteers and money; everything takes money.”

Bracy called on church pastors, local businesses and members of the community to support the project, and he mentioned a program which asks people to contribute $1 per week. “The goal of this conference is to raise awareness. I know once people hear about this, they will want to do something about it.”

Despite the difficult issues associated with teen homelessness in this area, conference participants were optimistic that the future would be brighter for kids in desperate situations.

“This is not going to be a shelter,” explained Bracy. “It will be a stable environment where kids can stay for a year or more if they need to and get help with things like housing, education and job training. We don’t have all the answers, but we do have a bunch of people who want to do something about this problem.”

For more information, phone 684-3743. People are invited to attend another conference at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 18 at Living Waters Assembly of God in Strong.