Nina Hogue lived in her car for nearly five months after she became homeless. Going without food regularly and having no safe place to put her head down were tough. She was only 18 years old — and alone.

On any given day, 2,000 youths between 12 and 18 are homeless in the Kansas City metropolitan area, often because of abuse or dysfunctional homes. This startling number doesn’t include those in homeless families.

Most of these kids move from friends’ couches to cars and to the streets. Limited community resources can give them safe places to stay until they can find something permanent or return home.

Synergy Services in Parkville is one of those few places. Staff there have helped troubled and homeless teens since 1971, but there is only room for 14 youths to stay overnight. Most stays are for a few weeks.

Thanks to foundation support, more help is on the way. Synergy is building a campus near Interstates 29 and 35 that will expand lodging to nearly double the number of beds so as many as 550 homeless youths can stay at the shelter each year.

The expansion will include new space for creative activities and recreation, and for medical and dental care and counseling.

Robin Winner, executive director, says the expanded services will help homeless youths who don’t live at the shelter, too. They can shower, work on homework or on computers, and participate in art, dance, music and drama activities. The new space will give them a way to stay connected to the community and help.

Hogue says Synergy turned her life around. She now has a job as a certified nurse’s assistant and lives in her own apartment. She met her best friend at Synergy.

Synergy has to turn away one young person for every one it can accept in its current shelter, but that will change if the campus project is sufficiently funded. It’s a worthy effort.