BOUNTIFUL—Students, administrators, elected officials and the Davis Education Foundation came together at Viewmont High School on Wednesday to celebrate the opening of the Valhalla Student Center, the seventh Teen Center in the Davis School District. The center is named after the school’s mascot, the Viewmont Vikings.

The Center serves students who are homeless or housing insecure, providing a safe place for them to shower, make a hot meal, launder clothing, sit in a quiet study area and access educational and community resources.

“Students come from Bountiful, West Bountiful and Centerville cities,” said Principal Travis Lund. “This will bring the community together and help bring family support students need to achieve their educational goals.”

“When I was hired to this position a year and a half ago I was excited because I graduated from Viewmont in 2015,” said Zach Wheatley, Valhalla Student Center Coordinator. “The community means a lot to me. I didn’t know how much I’d be impacted. Supporting these kids who are in adverse situations will have a ripple effect for years to come.”

“Five years ago I was talking to the principal at East High who is a good friend,” said Davis School District Board Member John Robison. “He mentioned that East High had put in a facility for students who were homeless or in need.”

Robison said that he took him on a tour downstairs and showed him their facility. “I was blown away. The thing that struck me the most is how it got started. He said he saw a girl in the hall who looked like she’d been in a wind tunnel. It turned out her family had slept that night behind the Food King in the middle of the winter because it was the warmest place they could find.”

That is heartbreaking, said Robison. “I went back and talked to Jodi (Lunt, Davis Education Foundation Director). I told her we need to build one of those.”

The Superintendent and a group of people went to East High, he said. “It was unanimous that we could do this. We’ll find a way. Now we’re here today. This doesn’t happen without lots of hands. I’m very, very proud to be a part of this group and for the big impact this will have on the lives of students.”

The Center offers educational and community services and gives kids a safe place to be. Photo by Becky Ginos

Davis County has the power to see the individual child, said First Lady Abby Cox. “The child who doesn’t feel like they belong, who needs a place of belonging where they can find friendship and connection. We’re getting upstream of things society is facing. We’re meeting them where they are.”

Cox said she visits a lot of schools. “I see compassionate, loving and kind students. This generation is pushing us as adults in creating a community around students who need them.”

They say every child needs one caring adult in their life, she said. “Someone who loves them and shows them they belong so as they look back after graduation they say ‘I can be somebody. I can do something big.’”

Superintendent Dr. Dan Linford was a student advisor at Viewmont High School several years ago. “I spent 17 years at Viewmont,” he said. “It’s a big part of me. It’s like coming home. As the student advisor we supported activities that didn't always get supported.”

One of the crew members was disheveled and his clothes weren’t clean but he was smiling, Linford said. “I learned a few days later that he was couch surfing. The SBO he was living with was going out of town so he had to find a new couch. He would join athletic teams so that he could go to morning practice and shower.”

“In a world of turmoil, this is the good stuff,” said Angie Osguthorpe, CEO/President of Davis Chamber of Commerce. “Students helping students. In our lifetime we can all be receivers of goodness, kindness and care. Then sometimes we’re the giver and we pay it forward. It’s a beautiful circle.”

“I can’t wait to see the impact this will have,” said Kate Woods, Viewmont SBO Service Officer. “The Viking community is tight knit. We love and care for each other so much. We all want to be there to help and make lives better.”

Valhalla is Viking heaven, she said. “I’m grateful we’ll have a little piece of heaven.”