NORTHAMPTON — A location has been scouted for a new extended-stay facility for homeless youth, the president for Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals, Inc., said Thursday.

Group president Rick Hart said he expects the home will welcome its first residents sometime this summer.

For now, Hart and others on the project remain mum on the home’s exact location — other than disclosing it’s a residence in Florence — because they haven’t yet closed on the property. After the T’s are crossed and the I’s dotted, Hart said he intends to deed the house to DIAL/SELF, a youth services agency, which will manage and staff the property.

The home, which will cater to men and women ages 18-24, will have room for four individuals and is expected to open its doors at a yet-to-be-determined date in the summer.

“The demand, we feel, is pretty serious,” Hart said.

Hart also said he anticipates adding space to accommodate an additional four people. As for the amount of time a person is allowed to remain at the home, organizers said they don’t have a fixed number at the moment. Hart said that, while the amount of time in such residential programs varies, an average stay usually lasts about a year.

“What we’re aiming for is unaccompanied homeless youth, which means they’re on their own — no family, no support network,” Hart said. “They’re at especially high risk of becoming long-term homeless for the rest of their lives … They’re at a very formative period in their lives for one thing … it’s very hard at their age to pull themselves out on their own.”

Yvonne Freccero, who was previously president for Friends of Hampshire County Homeless Individuals but now volunteers with the group, said the home will be “well-equipped for young people to take up residence.”

“I happen to know that there are a number of homeless young people in Northampton,” Freccero said, adding that many of them are in their late teens and are either graduating high school without a place to live or are being cycled out of foster programs.

“We’ve acquired houses before, but it was always for older people,” she said. “If you start off homeless, it’s very hard to get your life together. So the idea is to provide housing and support services to help them get on their feet and get started.”

Friends also oversees two seasonal homeless facilities for individuals, one based in Northampton on Center Street and the other in Easthampton. Combined, the programs house 26 people, with services spanning November through April.

With a goal of about $800,000 to fund the endeavor, the group has been raising money since last year. As of Thursday, their efforts have yielded about $650,000 in fundraising and pledged donations, Hart said, adding that anyone who wishes to donate can do so by visiting Friends’ website, hamphomeless.org.

“We’re pretty psyched about it,” Hard said. “There’s just a lot of work left.”

Michael Majchrowicz can be reached at mmajchrowicz@gazettenet.com.