CLEARFIELD—Open Doors started as the Family Connections Center in a tiny little house in Clearfield and grew as the needs in the community grew. The nonprofit organization cut the ribbon on June 9 for a newly remodeled building that will house all services. Prior to the move, programs were split between three locations. The new location is at 438 E. 700 South, Clearfield.

“As we started helping these families we realized there were other services that they needed,” said Assistant Executive Director Daneen Adams. “Things such as housing stability and parenting education. As we get to know our community and what their needs are, our programs grow.”

Adams said Open Doors is the community action agency that oversees Davis County. “So that’s all of our anti-poverty programs. That’s our self-sufficiency program, our Circles program and our housing stability program.”

Open Doors is also the family support center that oversees Davis County, she said. “That’s all of our strengthening families programs. Our whole motto is a hand up not a hand out.”

Generally Open Doors targets families who are at or below poverty level, said Adams. “But our Imagination Station nursery is open to anybody you don’t have to qualify.”

It’s not daycare, she said. “It’s a respite nursery. It’s just for scheduled time out breaks. We see a lot of moms that have three children and one might have to go to a doctor’s appointment and they want to leave the two here. We see a lot of moms that are pregnant and they have to go for their doctor’s appointments. It’s once a week for three hours.”

Sometimes people just need a break, said Adams. “Maybe to go take a bath or get your hair done. We also see a lot of military families because of the fact that we are so close to the base.”

A lot of them are uprooted, they’re not close to family, she said. “They have a parent deployed – they just need a time out break.”

The crisis nursery is just what it is, she said. “It has to be a crisis. Usually it’s when something happens, an arrest or emergency. We’re open 24/7. We have a hotline you call and we can keep children up to 72 hours. That has some pretty strong requirements of what a crisis is.”

Open Doors has a very diversified funding base, Adams said. “It’s between the county, Layton City, Clearfield City, the state and federal and private foundations and the community.”

“We have homeless prevention that assists individuals that are facing homelessness, facing addiction,” said Housing Stability Coordinator, Amber Thirkill. “We have a program where a mediator can meet with a landlord and the tenant to come to a mutual agreement.”

Thirkill said they also have a housing program where they house individuals that are experiencing homelessness. “They’re staying in shelters, Safe Harbor Crisis Center as well as on the street. We do conduct regular street outreach with those experiencing literal homelessness on the streets of Davis County.”

The Circles program helps to provide the tools individuals need to get out of poverty, she said. “They meet with mentors that guide them. Whether it is helping them get further with their employment or helping them fix their credit, purchasing a house or starting a business.”

Adams recalled an experience that really had an impact on her. “I’d just started and we did the Toys for Tots program,” she said. “There was a mom who came through and she had two little girls. We escorted them through the old building and they got to choose toys. We had this local ward that knit all of these beautiful hats and gloves.”

She came through and Adams said she showed her what she could take and she started crying. “She said, ‘I didn’t know how I was going to tell my little girls that there’s no such thing as Santa Claus. I found out that she was recently homeless.”

Because she came in for help Adams said they were able to get her into their programs. “She ended up going through DTC, becoming an electrician and starting her own business. Every year she sends us a huge check for Christmas and says ‘you changed my life.’”