SALT LAKE CITY - A new $6 million resource center for homeless kids and young adults is set to open in Salt Lake City in late May, and Volunteers of America took members of the media on a walk through of the new 20,000 square-foot facility Wednesday.
"When I first went to the second floor, I was like, 'Wow,'" said Kathy Bray, CEO and President of VOA. "The opportunities in here are endless."
The new facility is roughly five times bigger than VOA's current location on Main Street in Salt Lake City, and it will have things the previous location does not.
"This will have computer rooms for kids to be able to work on their resumes, and it will have counselors and therapists for them to talk to," Bray noted.
Most importantly, it will have a place for kids to stay the night, something the previous location didn't have either.
"I used to have to leave at 5 p.m. when they closed the door," said Steven Reilly, a 21-year-old who has been homeless since January. "I had no hope. I had nothing. But as soon as I heard about this place, it opened my eyes."
He said sleeping on the streets or with adults at shelters was tough to do, and the bad influences of drugs and alcohol were always around.
"If you have the right mindset, you can stay away from it," he noted. "You can make it out as long as you set yourself up the right way."
He thinks the new resource center does just that. The building is set to open May 24.
For more about the VOA in Salt Lake City, the resources they offer and the ways you can help their cause, click here.
