The KC Center is located at 767 Canal Boulevard in Redmond. A ribbon-cutting for the new facility was held Nov. 3.

J Bar J Youth Services, a central Oregon nonprofit, opened a new Redmond center Nov. 3 that offers youth support for parents experiencing hardship.

The new facility is called the KC Center and it will serve as a safe space where kids can participate in a range of activities from homework help, board game competitions, and access to volunteers who will provide emotional support, J Bar J said in a release on Tuesday.

The center will also be a place where parents experiencing hardship can engage with volunteers and foster a sense of community as they overcome the challenges they face in life.

Jonathan Baker, the director of development with J Bar J, said the new center is primarily meant to provide support and connection for children and their parents, and to serve as an alternative to government programs like the Department of Human Services. He said parents can experience a wide variety of circumstances preventing them from being fully present in their children’s lives such as serious illness, struggles with housing, or an unexpected job loss.

“I think sometimes the assumption is that when these hardships or unexpected circumstances arise, the only option for a child is to become involved in the system. And that is not always necessary,” Baker said. “We wanted to have an option for somebody where that wouldn’t be the only option for that child. But that they may have more options that are less invasive or less disruptive and ultimately can preserve the family structure as much as possible.”

The center is part of J Bar J’s Kindred Connections program — which is dedicated to providing help to families in crisis who lack a safety net — through mentoring and support. The new center on 767 Canal Boulevard in Redmond is set to open with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Nov. 3.

Baker said volunteers for the program must go through an extensive background check and specialized training through the organization in order to serve children and parents.

“It is a place where people can go and have a central location and get support throughout the day and a place for kids to go and have support help, conversations, mentorship, as opposed to having that happen in a home with one of our volunteer families or support families,” Baker said. “I think it opens up the availability and the reach of how we can support these kids and these families.”