ìSome of them are runaways, but most of the youth (we see) are throw-aways, where their parent (s) says ëwe have nothing more for you,íî says Zach Bale. ìMany of them are in foster care.î
He manages the Homeless Youth Drop-In Center on south State Street in downtown Salt Lake City.
Operated by the non-profit charity Volunteers of America Utah, it is the only such place of its kind in the state of Utah.
A small group of youth can often be seen waiting outside the door for it to open. Due to funding constraints, it is open Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
ìWe would open one more day if we had the money,î says Michelle Templin, VOA spokesperson. ##M:MORE##
The center operates largely thanks to donations, from money to toiletries to a lot more.
Itís amazing what has been squeezed into the inobtrusive-looking building, located next to the popular Bayou Restaurant.
Two meals a day are served, with volunteers often preparing the meals.
But a big component of VOAís mission, and the center, is direct involvement by the youth being helped.
Geared to youth ages 15-22, participants are expected to perform chores, from sweeping the floors to stocking shelves in the food pantry.
ìThatís not only to keep the center clean, but to help them so they feel ownership in it,î Bale says.
Between 20 and 40 youth a day have been visiting the center, but that number has grown to 50, recently, he said.
Jeremy has now technically ìaged outî of the center, at age 23. But he still stops by and receives moral support from the staff.
His story is fraught with the pitfalls many encounter, but demonstrates the positive twists and turns that can pull a troubled youth up.
ìWhen I was 18, I was in youth corrections, but got kicked out of the system. I was dropped off at my dadís doorstep, hit the streets from there.
ìI was just kicking it with the rest of the kids out there, drinking, partying, doing our thing, the street life. I did that for two years.
ìSomebody brought me to VOA. The staff works really hard with the clients. They donít treat them like they are scum. Theyíre there (in support) all the way, willing to get to know the person, willing to get to know them as friends.
ìIíve been working through VOA the past three or four years, now, with case management. They have been keeping me off the street,î he says.
He credited VOA with teaching him how to be self-sufficient. ìI had no social skills, no work skills, no skills pretty much period. Theyíve been slowly building them in me. Iíve learned a lot.
ìIím in housing (an apartment) right now. Theyíve been pushing me to get better, hold a job, go to school.î
For Jeremy, that means taking his dream to Hollywood, at least temporarily. He wants to become familiar with how a recording studio works and eventually set one up back home in Salt Lake.
ìThe current economic situation puts stress on families, has an impact in times of stress,î Bale says.
Perhaps even more popular than the free meals, which usually mean about 30 at the kitchen tables (all services are free, here) is the chance to sign up for a shower in the private bathroom, Bale says.
To many, if not most of them, that is a luxury they donít often get to enjoy. ìHomeî may be an abandoned building, parking garages, or, now with warmer weather, it can mean ìcampingî in park bushes or elsewhere.
A clean change of clothes is also possible with a washer and dryer available for sign-up, as well.
The Utah Food Bank and the LDS Churchís Bishopsí Storehouse are among those agencies which provide foodstuffs to the center.
Cans of food or other non-perishable items are given to the youth to cover those times when the center isnít open: breakfast and weekends.
ìWe give the youth three cans and three non-can items for them to use when weíre not open,î Templin says.
They have to become ingenious, as ìstreet people,î and may pop into a convenience store to use a microwave to warm up those items.
Some of the youth are parents themselves, with a baby in toe. The center seeks donations to meet the needs of those mothers, as well, such as for diapers.
But blankets, clothing, assorted toiletries, sealed and packaged food are all accepted. And because theyíre out on the streets much of the time, such items as bug spray, bottled water and suntan lotion are especially popular right now.
ìI think a lot of volunteers make a connection with the center,î Templin says. ìIn the realm of volunteers, they cover a broad spectrum of demographics, from 21 on up. Different youth mesh with different volunteers.î
In addition to providing a warm place to ìchillî on cold winter nights, though, center staff is also looking to helping youth ìmove on.î
In conjunction with a variety of other agencies, classes are offered to help kids obtain their GED, health clinic services made available, even mock job interview training provided.
The center was started in 1995 by another group, and was taken over by VOA in 1999. Humanitarian activist Pamela Atkinson, featured in last monthís issue, was among those who helped found the facility.
The centerís services are augmented by Street Outreach. Each weekday, volunteers and staff seek out homeless street youth in Salt Lake County.
They provide basic items, work to build trust and encourage youth to follow up with necessary services.
A Transition Home is also operated by VOA. It provides an 18-month, all-female program designed to offer support, guidance and structure to homeless youth. Case management, goal-setting, skill building groups and classes are held designed to help young women, ages 16-19, transition from instability and homelessness to reunification with family and/or self-sufficiency.
But volunteers are what, in the end, make it all possible. They augment a tiny paid staff.
Susan Donnelly of Salt Lake got involved through her daughter, who needed help.
ìMy daughter got into drugs. She was upper class, white, a pretty girl, an honor roll student. In high school, she kindíve went down pretty quick, got into trouble.
ìI couldnít handle the drug use in my house. She went to live with her dad. He was at the end of his rope, was ready to kick her out. She was kindíve living in her car for two days.îA judge wanted her sent to jail, but a lawyer convinced him to let her enter a womenís detoxification center.
The detox center is operated by VOA for no charge, and Donnelly says ìtheyíre providing great services which we really need in our community. Thereís not enough of that.
ìI volunteered online, have been a volunteer at the homeless youth drop-in center. It breaks my heart how many young kids are homeless. I do outreach, go out with a staff member or two and basically walk the streets. They know where the homeless kids hang out. We approach them, tell them about VOA, about the drop-in center. A lot havenít even heard of it.
ìAlso Iíll cook dinner. Sometimes Iíll sit there and hang out with them. Some will open up to me. I think the kids are so young, adults may be harder to help. Maybe weíre getting kids off the street, which may reduce that,î street homelessness, she says.
ìMy daughter is so much better,î she says.
For more information about the center, to donate, or to volunteer for this or other VOA programs, call 363-9414, Ext. 9, or visit the Web at http://www.voaut.org/.
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