Ogden School District opens new teen resource center for students in need

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

OGDEN — As students return to the classroom, the Ogden School District will open new facilities that offer more ways to help them meet basic needs.

The goal of these centers is to give students a place right inside their schools where they can take care of some of their basic needs, enabling them to succeed in other areas of their lives.

Alma Palmer, vice principal of Ogden High, said the food, showers and washing machines provided will be life-changing for students in need.

"I think that, yeah, this is gonna change some lives for the better," Palmer said.

Palmer understands firsthand the value students can find in having access to basic amenities at school, having grown up often without himself.

"I slept on the floor my first year. I had three articles of clothing. Three outfits. They got washed once a week. And honestly, like, food, was a hard thing," he said.

Thanks to a brand-new teen center at Ogden High, what was a hard thing will now be made easier for students who walk through the door.

"If there was a place like that at the school, it would have been amazing. It would have really helped me out," Palmer said.

Palmer said that most students who need this access work full days with little time to spare and have jobs outside of school.

A food pantry for teens in need is part of the new Ogden High School youth center in Ogden. (Photo: KSL-TV)

To meet those students where they are, he said there will be time to study during study hall, but also, if services need to be done, they can do them then during school.

"If you have a place where kids don't have to worry about survival, then they can focus on the things that are gonna better their life, and that's the key here," Palmer said.

Open after school, the center will also offer resources, including homework and healthy lifestyle support, through a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club.

"You only need to share what you want to share, and we'll help you get what you need," said Jazmine Gruber, site coordinator with the Boys & Girls Club at Ogden High.

Just down the street inside Ben Lomond High School, a finished construction project is making room for another support center for teens and their families, which is getting ready to open.

"School usually is that safe place for them. It's where they have connections with teachers and faculty and staff that they trust, and that's a very vulnerable situation to be in, so having the resources within their school where they already feel comfortable and safe and have those trusting relationships makes it much easier for us to serve them and their needs," said Joni Slater, assistant principal at Ben Lomond High School.

Of the 10,000 students in the Ogden School District, just under 70% of the student population is considered economically disadvantaged. Need may not always be easy to spot among our neighbors, but now, resources are fully available.

"I'm hoping that by having them, people will recognize it's OK to ask for help, and they can trust and know this is a safe space for them to get that help," Slater said.

Through these centers, support centers are now in all of Ogden School District's high schools, including the newly opened OTECH High School.