Youth Shelters and Family Services (YSFS) was established in 1980 under the name Santa Fe Shelter Care by a group of citizens who were concerned that children and young people who were in crisis and needed shelter had no alternative but to go the juvenile detention facility. These young people, who were often escaping abusive or volatile home situations, were being punished, when what they needed was support and a safe haven. La Otra Puerta Emergency Youth Shelter opened its doors next to the juvenile detention center—so named because it was the “other door,” providing a safe and nurturing alternative to detention for up to 30 days at a time for children and youth from ages 10 to 16. The shelter works to reunite kids with their families whenever possible, or to assist with placing them in other safe, stable, and caring environments.

Throughout the 1980s, the shelter occupied a number of locations, finally moving into a renovated house on Airport Road in 1991. In 1990, the Casa Libertad Transitional Living Program was established, offering a residential setting for older adolescents (ages 16 - 21) who could not live at home. This program provides guidance in basics of living independently: how to find and keep a job, how to locate and maintain safe housing, how to manage money and buy groceries, and other ways of living a safe and healthy life as a contributing member of the community. The Transitional Living Program serves kids for whom nothing else has worked—kids who’ve been homeless for long periods of time, who’ve been in foster care or who’ve been in trouble, and some who are teen parents.

In 1996, YSFS and another Santa Fe-based agency, the Family Institute, began exploring a possible merger; the merger would provide a seamless continuum of services to young people and families in need. After months of study and discussions, the two groups joined forces, adding counseling, treatment foster care, and juvenile community corrections into the YSFS fold. Youth Shelters and Family Services was now a multi-faceted agency with a budget of $1.2 million.

Also in the 90s, several city agencies and community groups came together to address the growing numbers of homeless youth on the streets of Santa Fe. A 1995 needs assessment found that there were hundreds of these young people, often without food or shelter and subject to illness and physical and sexual abuse. In response, YSFS began a small program of outreach to homeless and street kids, distributing sandwiches, clothing, tents, sleeping bags, health and hygiene kits, and resource cards. The First Contact Street Outreach program, as it came to be called, grew rapidly, with YSFS staff and volunteers going out into the streets on foot and cruising around Santa Fe in a renovated RV. Then in 2000, the program opened its Resource Center on Guadalupe Street, providing a place for homeless and street youth to get a meal, take a shower, do laundry, or call home. Program staff are available to assist young people in achieving their individual goals, whether that is finding a job, returning to school, or locating safe and permanent housing.

As the years passed, the agency needed to upgrade its aging, high-maintenance facilities. In 1999 a multi-phase building program was undertaken, beginning with the opening of a new, specially-designed emergency shelter in 2003. A new counseling and administrative office will open in Summer 2006. All will be located in a planned campus on Agua Fria Street, near the intersection with San Felipe Rd.