The Mecosta / Osceola Youth Attention Center is expanding and will be getting some new help. The Mecosta County Board of Commissioners approved the hiring of a new case worker at Thursday's meeting. Youth Attention Center Executive Director Amy Eddinger says it's because they're growing.

“We are expanding our services to Newaygo County. So we had previously worked in just Mecosta and Osceola and we will now be working in Newaygo.”

The new case worker will be working with runaway and homeless youth between the ages of 12 and 21 providing outreach and case management services. Eddinger adds there are more runaways and youth with families in crisis that many people think.

“We have a lot of youth that are homeless in our counties,” she says.

The Youth Attention Center has been in operation since 1977.