Resource center for Woods Cross teens experiencing homelessness

Dec 14, 2021, 1:57 PM

Rendering of a new teen resource center to be built on the campus of Woods Cross High School in the Davis School District. Photo: Davis Education Foundation

BY SIMONE SEIKALY

Digital Content Producer

SALT LAKE CITY — Some of the hundreds of high school students experiencing homelessness in the Davis School District will soon have help at Woods Cross High School. That’s where the ground will be broken on Tuesday for a new teen resource center.

The center at Woods Cross will resemble a resource center completed in April 2021 at Clearfield High School. Clearfield’s center serves as many as 60 students a week.

There, teens experiencing homelessness use the shower and wash their clothes. They can do homework in a quiet study area. Teenagers will also have access to education and community resources.

The overall goal of the teen resource centers being built in the Davis District is to give kids in crisis a safe place to take care of basic needs, to keep them in school, and to help give them lifelong skills that can reduce the likelihood of chronic homelessness.

“The teen center at Woods Cross High School will serve our students in a variety of ways, providing safety and dignity,” said Woods Cross High Principal Deanne Kapetanov in a statement.

Other centers are being built at Layton, Northridge, and Mountain High Schools. The Renaissance Academy will also host a teen resource center. These centers are all expected to be completed in 2022.

Davis Education Foundation, a non-profit organization established in 1982 to benefit the schools of Davis County, are greatly contributing to the construction efforts for these five Davis District schools.

“The community has stepped up in a huge way to support students experiencing homelessness at Woods Cross High,” said Davis Education Foundation Executive Director, Jodi Lunt, in a statement.