The future of teen centers in Utah

Logan City School District opened its Family Resource Center in November. The center includes resources for students and their families — including facilities for doing laundry, cooking and studying.   

Davis School District has similar centers at Mountain High School, Clearfield High School, Northridge High School and Renaissance Academy.   

Mountain High School opened its Teen Resource Center in September, and around 400 people have utilized the resources since the center opened.   

The space includes shower facilities, mental health services, food assistance, academic support, personal lockers, a zen room, a kitchen and laundry facilities. 

“This place is important because it’s a safe space they can come and get some help if they need it,” said Jennifer Lund, the teen center advocate and receptionist. “There’s so many unknowns out in the world and our kids are having to face things that I never had to face.” 

The center offers personal hygiene kits, socks and underwear to students who use the shower facilities. It also has towels and other products available for students to use when getting ready. 

The center’s food pantry offers food assistance. Along with general food items, there are Pantry Packs and Meals for U’s. 

The Pantry Packs are a bag of snacks and easy-to-make individual meals.  

The Meals for U’s program includes the ingredients to make a meal at home. Students take the bag home and make a healthy meal.  

Participating in the program can remove a U from their transcript. The U represents an unsatisfactory citizenship grade. The center hopes this program helps remove some of the stigma surrounding food assistance.  

Mountain High School also has the district’s young parent program. They have a mother’s room in the Teen Center, which includes breast pumps and a recliner to assist the moms at the school. 

“We’re bringing the resources to the students here, so they can come to school,” said Jennifer Christensen, a licensed clinical social worker at Mountain High School and the coordinator of the teen center. “The reason for that is because their best chance is education.” 

Christensen received her bachelor’s and master’s from Utah State University. Her first clinical internship was at Adams Elementary School in Logan.  

“One thing that has carried with me from that time that I use here is the idea that we’re all part of a system,” Christensen said. “It’s a system of care. In order to serve students, we have to realize what happens in their homes. They can’t just shut that off when they come to school.”  

The workers are also able to connect students to additional resources when they see there is a need. 

“I wish every high school had one of these. I think they’re that important,” Lund said. “I think we have enough students out there that could benefit from the resources that we have here.” 

There are hopes to continue expanding teen centers statewide.  

The Policy Project, who created the teen center project, is a group striving to create policy changes at the local and national levels. They hosted a rally in November at the Utah State Capitol and are promoting teen centers to legislators.   

“Being a teenager is hard enough,” said The Policy Project on Facebook. “Let’s come together as a community to look out for those in need. Every student deserves the confidence and dignity of having their basic needs met.”   

-Carter.Ottley@usu.edu

Featured photo by Carter Ottley