St. George • High school students in Washington County who need meals, showers, listening ears or helping hands, or just a place to hang out and decompress, know where they can go.
They head to one of five teen centers — repurposed and remodeled former classrooms — which have opened over the past eight months at Washington County School District high schools.
The centers, which are part of more than 80 at high schools statewide, were made possible by Policy Project, a Utah nonprofit that helped secure $15 million from the state Legislature and nearly $3 million from private donors in 2023 to fund the centers aimed at helping meet students’ basic needs.
Utah has seen a 34% increase in students experiencing homelessness since 2020 and nearly one in three students are economically disadvantaged, according to data from The Policy Project, a Utah-based nonprofit. Schools in St. George and nearby communities are no exception.
“We’ve identified about 1,000 students in our district who are experiencing homelessness,” said Brian Gunnell, Washington County School District’s at-risk coordinator. “Most people are surprised by that number because of all the large houses and wealth they see in the area.
(Mark Eddington | The Salt Lake Tribune) Desert Hills High School's teen center in St. George, Monday Nov. 24, 2025.
Gunnell worked with The Policy Project to secure the roughly $1.5 million needed to fund the teen centers. The first one opened at Dixie High School last April. In August, he said, the district opened additional centers at Hurricane, Pine View, Desert Hills and Snow Canyon high schools. All of the centers are situated in former classrooms.
Gunnell said each district center is equipped with a Utah Food Bank pantry, where students grappling with food insecurity or who may have missed a meal or are just in need of a snack can make something to eat. There are refrigerators, microwaves and eating utensils available for that purpose, as well as kitchen sinks, where students are expected to wash their own dishes and clean up after themselves.
Other amenities the teen centers sport include private bathrooms and showers and study rooms that can double as places where students can connect with school counselors if needed. They also feature laundry facilities, personal hygiene and cleaning supplies, and a central lounge area where high schoolers can chat quietly or play Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, a popular game.
‘School moms’ have a tough job
As much as they enjoy playing cards, Desert Hills High School seniors Lincoln Neider and McKay Tebbs said their high school center’s real draw is Jami Smith, the part-time paraprofessional — often dubbed as “school mom” — who oversees the center and tends to students’ needs.
“She is amazing,” Neider said. “So we like to come to the center and chat with her. She even helped teach me how to make hot chocolate.”
Gunnell said Smith, like her counterparts in the other schools’ teen centers, partners with school counselors to ensure students receive the support they need.
“They have a hard job,” he said. “They maintain the food pantry, help kids wash their clothes, and deal with about 40 students who gather here during the lunch hour. Jami is not doing this to get rich but out of love for the students. She knows that some kids really need her support, and she is there for them.”
Smith said she treasures the times students, some of them teary-eyed, come in to thank her and tell her what a blessing the center is in their lives. She also enjoys watching the academic strides some of the pupils are making.
“I have a regular here who is a very talented and motivated senior,” Smith said. “She came in last week to tell me she got accepted for admission into Penn State, her top school. She wanted to tell me and give me a hug because I helped her with some of her essays and [submit] her applications.”
Gunnell said he has had students who have been couch-surfing at friends’ places, living in campers for four or five years, or living on their own without their parents, express gratitude for the centers and for the support and resources they provide.
All students welcome
(Mark Eddington | The Salt Lake Tribune) Paraprofessional Jami Smith, left, and Brian Gunnell, Washington County School District at-risk coordinator, at Desert Hills High School's teen center in St. George, Monday Nov. 24, 2025.
Still, both he and Smith attest, it would be a mistake to assume that only students with economic and other challenges use the center. They say most students who use the center drop in for a quick snack, to decompress and hang out with classmates for a few minutes.
“We have everyone from athletes to theater students to special-needs kids use the center,” Smith said. “Everyone is welcome here.”
Gunnell said cash and in-kind donations from businesses and the community at large are equally welcomed and relied on to keep the centers open and staffed. The Washington County School District Foundation, the nonprofit tasked with providing resources and support to students, is accepting donations.
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