A Shelter from the streets | The Columbus Dispatch

Since 1970, Columbus has had a residential center, Huckleberry House, for young runaways. But she couldn't find a place where homeless youths might regroup during the day, coming and going as they please. "I was horrified," said the associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Science. "It's the 15th-largest city in the country, and there's no drop-in center for homeless kids?" At that point, she decided to create one.

Justin James Hardy III, 18, has been homeless since a falling-out with his mother around Christmas. The South Side native has been living Downtown at the Faith Mission on E. Long Street and spending most weekdays at the drop-in center.He views the drop-in center as a lifeline. "I wouldn't have nothing else if it weren't for this place," Hardy said. "It's the environment. It's the computer. I can play spades here; I can go in the kitchen and cook..."