At-risk youth could soon find refuge if they ever become homeless in or around DeKalb.

Family Service Agency of DeKalb County gained preliminary support this week from the DeKalb Planning and Zoning Commission to establish a new youth emergency homeless shelter called Roots to Rise. The City Council will have the final say at its Dec. 8 meeting.

“The shelter’s primary purpose is to offer secure, stable and nurturing environment for people who lack consistent housing,” Family Service Agency executive director Tynisha Clegg said.

The emergency youth homeless shelter, once it’s operational, will provide temporary space for up to 16 persons to stay in the event they become homeless. The facility, at 220 College Avenue, would be supervised 24/7 by three staff members at any given time and open to area youth ages 14 to 18.

Clegg said the agency’s end goal is simple.

“Our goal is to address their immediate needs for safety, food and shelter, while providing resources to support long-term stability, education and self-sufficiency,” Clegg said.

In addition to overnight accommodations, the agency would provide meals, snacks, hygiene care, laundry facilities and more.

On site, area youth will find access to services from licensed clinical social workers or therapists to provide ongoing support and case management.

Clegg said the space isn’t meant to be a long-term housing solution.

The average stay at an emergency youth shelter will be 21 days, she said.

To satisfy the applicant’s request, the city needs to amend the municipal code to add a lodging house to the list of allowable special uses within both the multi-family residential districts in town. A special use permit also will need approval for the youth homeless shelter to proceed.

Similar uses already exist in both the multi-family residential districts in town. Those include group homes, residences for people with disabilities and more.

Clegg stressed that the well-being of area youth is an agency priority.

“The whole point of this is to reduce risks associated with street homelessness, such as victimization, exploitation, and interrupted education,” Clegg said.

Since July 1, the agency has reported 16 youth who have been locked out of their homes or have run away.

Clegg said a majority of these cases involve parents refusing to let their children come home.

“The purpose of this shelter would be to house those children on a temporary basis, while we work with the families and the youth to resolve whatever conflicts may be going on and provide those ongoing services,” Clegg said.

Clegg said the hope is to create an emergency housing solution for at-risk youth that is closer to home.

“Currently, those youth are being taken to Rockford, Schaumburg, or another area in the suburbs for housing,” Clegg said. “Meaning they can’t attend school. They don’t have the resources and support that we could provide them here because they’re being taken significantly out of county, not just over the county line.”

The agency is in the middle of completing some improvements to the facility.

The property used to serve as a rooming house from 1998 to 2025, city documents show.

The city in November voted to commit a $50,000 share of Community Development Block Grant funding to the Family Service Agency to help make plans for the emergency youth homeless shelter possible.

City Planner Dan Olson urged the panel for its support.

“We felt this use would be fitting for a special use in those two districts,” Olson said.

A final floor layout for the facility will be set after the agency’s submittal is reviewed.

City staff said the property will be subject to annual inspections.

Ultimately, the commission voted to approve two measures in support of the agency’s plans for an emergency youth homeless shelter.

“Again, I think the big key is the reputation of Family Service Agency,” Olson said. “Since 1956, it’s been in the community.”