SPANISH FORK, Utah — The Nebo School District opened "The Landing," a support center inside Landmark High School in Spanish Fork, to address the growing issue of teen homelessness affecting at least 1,100 students in the district.
The center, which includes a kitchenette, provides students experiencing homelessness with counseling, laundry facilities, food, showers, and a quiet space to decompress. For families, there's also a pantry stocked with household essentials. Beardall says it's been three years in the making, with construction beginning just last summer.
On Tuesday, an open house was held for the community, educators, and local leaders to tour the new space. "If a student is hungry, a student hasn't had a shower or doesn't have that safe place, it's really hard to learn — it's really hard to focus on academics," Jason Beardall, principal for Landmark High School, said.
The district says they work with students who are a part of the McKinney-Vento program, a federal act that supports youth experiencing homelessness.
District social worker Monica Hullinger explained that homelessness among teens often looks different than people might expect. "It's not just kids out on the street; they're trying to be resourceful and are just trying to find a safe place to sleep at night," Hullinger said. "A lot of them have jobs, a lot of them want to make a better life for themselves."
She says many students are "couch surfers" who stay at friends' houses due to disagreements at home, while others sleep in their cars.
The district emphasized that providing basic necessities allows students to focus on their education and work toward breaking the cycle of homelessness.
"Think of what they can do for the future and how they can succeed," Hullinger said.
