LAYTON—The Teen Living Center is well underway in Layton and expected to be completed before the school year begins. The residential facility is meant to give teens who otherwise would not have a safe or consistent place to live the opportunity to have the resources they need to keep them on track for high school graduation and provide them with the basic needs to be successful.

“Kids experiencing homelessness have a greater risk for negative behaviors in the future,” said Kara Toone, Internal Partnerships and Grant Coordinator Davis Education Foundation. “Those who don’t receive a high school diploma are at 346% higher risk of experiencing homelessness in early adulthood. To get them across the finish line the public needs to have a strong role in combating intergenerational poverty.”

Services need to be provided on the back end, she said. “Kids are fighting a tough uphill climb if they don’t graduate. Graduation is one of the mitigating factors.”

Onsite Teen Centers have already been successful in high schools throughout the district, providing a place to shower, do laundry, study and receive resources to help students be successful in school. 

“We’ve seen the benefit of the Teen Centers,” said Toone. “But where do they sleep? Some are couch surfing, some are more severe like living in tents, unheated buildings, sheds or behind the grocery store.”

The Teen Living Center is a 16-bed facility to give kids a support system. “It’s difficult to launch a child into a teen if they don’t have a support system.”

Funding for the construction and operations of the center is provided through public/private partnership, individual and corporate donors and grant funding, Toone said. “No tax or district dollars are being used.”

The center is equipped with a kitchen and a pantry, she said. “The kids can sit and do homework at the long kitchen island. The pantry is like home with snacks, etc. Something we’ve found at the teen center in the schools is the question of whether kids will take advantage of that. Once the kids realize that there’s no scarcity, they don’t need to stockpile. There’s enough for everybody.”

There has been an overwhelming response from the community, said Toone. “They’ve donated hygiene items and food. There’s been no shortage of anything. The community has been so generous. I don’t see an end in sight. People have really been stepping it up to fill our warehouse.”

The center has separate bathroom/shower stalls with common sink areas, Toone said. “The doors all have locks. Each room has a captain’s bed, and a wardrobe. They’re bright and airy individual rooms. They aren’t shared. For some of the kids this is the first time they’ve had a room of their own.” 

Eligible secondary school students, prospective residents must follow this intake process: 

• All students will be required to complete a referral process through a steering committee.
• Residents will typically be Davis School District students.

“There is a work requirement to stay here,” said Toone. “They have to agree to attend school and have 20 hours of combined work or extracurricular activities. The idea is not to come sit here and waste time. We want them to be looking forward to building a foundation for the next phase of life. They also have to submit to drug testing and have parental consent.”

A third-party nonprofit, Switchpoint Community Resource Center, will operate the facility with Davis School District, Layton City and Davis County acting as coordinating partners in accessing key community resources, according to the Foundation.

“These people have a lot of experience in residential programs for adults,” said Toone. “Their model is ‘opportunity with accountability.’ I’m excited to see what they can do for teens.”

This facility gives kids the chance to be wrapped in the arms of the community, she said. “Most haven’t had that. We want to give them a launching pad and this is what this is.”