The teen was lugging a sleeping bag, guitar and a sack stuffed with clothes when he knocked at the Huntington Beach Youth Shelter's front door.

Elsa Greenfield answered. Her heart sank.

Greenfield, the shelter's director, had been working late that night last month to get the home ready to reopen after almost two years. The beds weren't ready when the 17-year-old showed up.

"All I could give him was a drink and my resources and watch him leave," she said.

The shelter won't have to turn away teens much longer. The one-story house in Central Park will be rededicated under a new operator – Community Service Programs – during a ceremony today. Doors will reopen July 1.

"This is just my dream that teens will have some place to go and be taken care of and sheltered," Huntington Beach Councilwoman Cathy Green said. "There's really no other place for kids in trouble to go to."

The shelter is one of only three in the county – including another CSP-operated home in Laguna Beach – that offer support to runaway and troubled youths not referred through social services or court.

Troubled teens are a "very underserved group," said Greenfield, who added that an estimated 25,000 runaways are living on California streets. "We can only expect problems to exacerbate as the population continues growing."

More than 259 teenagers visited the house in Huntington Beach from the beginning of 2002 to August 2004, when its previous operators, Volunteers of America, closed the shelter amid a disagreement with the city and budget concerns.

The house, which is owned by the city, sat vacant until early this year when CSP – a Santa Ana-based nonprofit group – came on board. Since then, volunteers have been painting the walls, renovating the kitchen (there are even marble countertops) and adding games, computers and furniture to the home – all donated.

Six teens at a time will be able to stay at the shelter, although CSP is seeking permission to increase its capacity to eight. Referrals can come from anyone: parents calling for help diffusing family fights, teens fleeing from an abusive environment, police and school officials seeking help.

Youngsters ages 11 to 17 can stay for two weeks. The rules: No drugs are allowed. No smoking. No cell phones. And they're free to walk out when they want.

While at the house, teens participate in one-on-one, group and family therapy and are responsible for daily chores and setting personal goals.

They also get help with schoolwork, participate in classes, such as art, and learn skills that prepare them for the work force and help them make sound decisions.

The goal is reunify them with their families or send them to a safe alternative, such as a family member or friend's home, said CSP Director Margot R. Carlson.

"We don't make perfect families, but our goal is to help youngsters and parents to live together in peace," Carlson said.

Shelter operators aren't worried about filling up beds. They've been fielding phone calls for weeks.

And when Greenfield answered the door for the runaway teen last month, she asked him how he knew he could find help there.

"I saw the lights on," he said.