Teen Living Center opens its doors to most vulnerable kids
Sep 19, 2024 11:18AM ● By Becky Ginos
Davis Education Director Jodi Lunt and other dignitaries cut the ribbon on the new Teen Living Center. The 10,000 square foot 16-bed facility will assist teens experiencing homelessness with overnight housing. Photo by Becky Ginos
When Jill Bergman walked into Davis Education Director Jodi Lunt’s office almost three years ago, she knew about Teen Centers in the high schools that provided resources for kids experiencing homelessness, but she asked, “where will they sleep?” That’s when the idea for a Teen Living Center (TLC) was born. That idea came to fruition last week as the Center opened its doors to teens experiencing homelessness who need a place to stay while providing resources to keep them on track for graduation.
Jill and her husband Rod Bergman donated the money to buy the property for the 10,000 square foot 16-bed facility located at 75 N. Fort Lane just east of Layton High School.
“Look what we can do together collectively, the impact this community will have on lives and generations to come for our young people to have a future that has hope,” said Lunt. “I’m so excited to open these doors and provide futures and hope and light for some of our most vulnerable children who don’t know what tomorrow will look like. We are here to lift and ensure that everyone in this community has the opportunity to thrive and succeed.”
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.
“This fits our mission of self-sufficiency to get out of homelessness,” said Switchpoint CEO, Carol Hollowell. “If we can help youth at this level I won’t see them as adults. We can break the cycle now.”
Many of the kids who will come here don’t have life skills, she said. “A lot haven’t learned how to cook without a microwave or do simple housekeeping. We want to get them to a place where they can graduate from high school and move on to be self-sufficient.”
Kids staying here have to attend 90% of school, said Hollowell. “They have to have passing grades and participate in 20 hours of after school activities. It can be anything, clubs, athletics, etc.”
The average stay is four months, she said. “We will try to place them back with their family or find someone who can take them in, like a foreign exchange program where a functional family can take them for the rest of the school year.”
Hollowell said Switchpoint is a liaison with the school district. “We’re advocates and work hand-in-hand with the district. Ours is a support staff that can create a safe environment for the kids. We help them with homework and filling out paperwork for college. We’re their support system.”
“There’s no question that the role of the Davis School District is to educate students,” said Superintendent Dan Linford. “Our students come in all shapes and sizes from diverse backgrounds. We take them all. We don’t turn anyone away but sometimes we have to do extraordinary things to help students and to preserve the learning environment for all.”
Linford said sometimes to meet the students’ needs the district builds football stadiums and provides coaches and teams. “Sometimes we provide food for students who have food insecurity. It’s impossible to know what others are going through. What we’re committed to is ensuring that in those rare cases that a student needs a place to sleep that we can at least point them to the opportunity to receive these kinds of resources.”
These are all things that help students learn, said Linford. “This helps us with our primary mission, to ensure that all students can learn at high levels.”
“The underlying goal is to give children hope so that they don’t repeat the cycle,” said Hollowell. “We’re breaking the cycle of poverty so they can say ‘I can do this.’ They can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”