Michelle Benward of New Frontiers for Families wants $315,000 in ongoing funds for The House Off Bluff Street, which is home to nine young men who grew up in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

The sect is based in the twin towns of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

Benward brought a dozen youths she is working with to the Capitol on Friday to help make the pitch for help.

Caleb Barlow was 15 when he left his home in Colorado City and tried to make it on his own. "I just didn't believe in their religion," said Barlow.

Barlow, who had left school halfway through ninth grade, lived with a brother in Green Valley and worked in construction. Now 18, he contacted Benward in September and asked for help getting back into school.

He is finishing the 12th grade at Dixie High School. "It's pretty fun, some days," Barlow said.

Last year, the Legislature provided $95,000 to support the home, which is still awaiting zoning approval from the city of St. George.

With more funding, the home could replace volunteers with paid staff, Benward said. The program offers life skills, educational and job assistance to the young men

"We are addressing needs of a complex community that have gone unmet," she said.

The home also helps keep the young men off the streets and out of "butt huts," where the lack of appropriate supervision and support contribute to substance abuse and delinquency problems, she said.

"The transition home offers an opportunity for them to be safe while they learn to make decisions appropriately," Benward said.

That's what Franklin Johnson, 22, discovered. Johnson was asked to leave his Colorado City home when he was 18 - a decision he was about to make any way.

"I left because I was just done with the prejudiced decisions against me because of my decisions . . . to watch movies and associate with girls and enjoy life a little bit," he said.

Johnson left school in the seventh grade to help support his family, which he said includes four parents and 36 siblings. After leaving the community, he lived with friends and worked in construction. But he got into trouble for using illegal substances.

Johnson said he met Benward two years ago and became her "favorite, her son." He finished his GED earlier this month and is enrolled at Dixie State College, where he is taking classes in business and auto mechanics.

"We are all troubled," said Franklin, who now works as a program mentor. "We are having a hard time coping and understanding this different way of life."