Youth centers open at three Ogden high schools | News, Sports, Jobs

OGDEN – The Ogden School District’s three high schools have kicked off the new school year with the opening of new youth resource centers this year.

Jer Bates, communications director for the Ogden School District, told the Standard-Examiner in an email Friday that the newly opened centers at Ogden, Ben Lomond and Ogden Technical High School offer several services for students in need.

“The youth centers at BLHS, OHS and OTECH HS primarily serve students facing homelessness and housing insecurity,” he said. “The centers are equipped to provide students with a safe and welcoming place to shower, do laundry and prepare meals. At the centers, our students can receive donated school supplies as well as food, clothing and hygiene items. Our youth centers are designed to not only meet immediate, short-term needs, but also connect students with community resources to find more permanent solutions. The youth centers can also be used by students who occasionally need a quiet, safe and stress-free place. This can be especially helpful for individuals who suffer from severe anxiety. Our goal is to provide students with a place that feels more like home than a classroom or office.”

This comes shortly after the district opened a similar facility at Odyssey Elementary School last fall.

“The Odyssey Elementary School Family Center provides access to the same items and services as our youth centers in a space large enough to accommodate an entire family,” added Bates. “Similar to the youth centers, the Family Center works to connect parents with community partners for long-term support and resources. All of these centers are made possible through the partnership between the Ogden School District and the Ogden School Foundation with the support and donations of generous community members.”

In addition to these centers, the district’s Child Nutrition Center, which opened last winter, also includes the MarketStar Student Resource Center, which collects and distributes many of the same items that the Family and Youth Centers provide to other schools in the district.

Bates said the centre at OHS is currently fully operational, but services at the other two new centres will be fully operational in the coming weeks.

“The BLHS center provides limited support,” he said. “The school will soon have a full-time supervisor so the center can provide comprehensive support to students. The OTECH HS center also provides limited support to students and will continue to expand its operations.”

He did not give an exact time frame for full operational readiness.

Shauna Haney, principal of Ogden High School, said the new youth centers could be very effective.

“Youth centers will break down barriers for students and allow them to focus on their academic achievement,” she said. “They will change the lives of many of our students and give them the tools to leave high school with the skills they need to be successful members of society.”

Anthony Martinez, president of the Ogden High School student council, agreed that the new center will be a tremendous asset to students.

“I think this is really important for students, especially students whose needs aren’t being met at home, because it’s hard to focus on school when you’re worried about other things,” he said. “So this is a place where they can feel safe, where someone is taking care of them.”

Amanda Hadley, Ben Lomond’s chief secretary, said the school centre was already making a difference.

“The Youth Center is a great addition to Ben Lomond High School,” she said. “Even though it is operating at a limited capacity, the administrative assistants have been able to support students with their needs through the Youth Center. This opportunity has allowed us to build relationships with students, which is very important.”

Bates said that while there are currently no plans to build similar centers at other schools in the district, this will be kept in mind for future new construction.

“Each of our schools has a limited supply of donated items. Individual requests to meet specific student and family needs are forwarded by schools to the MarketStar Student Resource Center on the district campus, which serves as a central point for receiving and distributing donations,” he said.

Opening ceremonies with parents, community members and students are planned for at least two of the centers. A grand opening is scheduled for BLHS on September 18th at 3:00 p.m. and for OHS on September 19th at 3:00 p.m.

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