JD Students Plan 5K Run to Help Homeless Youth

Sat, 08 Sep 2012 05:32:10 GMT

By Rachel Kuhr

Rachel Kuhr
Proceeds from the Distance for Destiny 5K fundraiser will benefit the Homeless Youth Resource Center in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah

Many students picture homeless people to be middle-aged men wearing tattered clothing and holding cardboard signs. They think of soup kitchens, living in boxes, and overgrown facial hair. But contrary to this image, numerous homeless youth on the streets of downtown Salt Lake City appear to be typical young adults. Many of them are simply confronted with devastating situations. The Homeless Youth Resource Center in downtown SLC is a small establishment crowded with people of all backgrounds. Smiling employees and volunteers stand behind the front desk, fully prepared to make each client feel welcome. Storage areas, couches, tables, washers and dryers, and showers make the cramped area a place intended to meet many people’s needs. The name of this center is somewhat of a misnomer because not all the clients are homeless. Some couch surf, staying with different family members and friends night after night. Many of the youth who stop by the resource center are simply in need of some assistance when it comes to basic necessities or finding housing, schooling, and employment. Charlie Knutch has been an employee at the resource center for about five months. “I volunteered [at the center] in high school when I went to Judge [Memorial High School] and had to do all those mandatory service hours,” Knutch said. “It was really a profound experience to sit at a table with people [who] were my exact same age with completely opposite circumstances.” He believes the greatest needs for the youth in this community are: shelter, food, affirmation of dignity, socialization, a relational component (relationships), and someone who is not just another face that ignores them on the street. Fulfilling these needs is the main goal of the Homeless Youth Resource Center. One client, Matthew Campbell, was able to truly benefit from the resource center. Staffers helped him get his own apartment and taught him how to gain and maintain employment. He has couch surfed and lived on the street before, and he appreciates having somewhere to get food, clothing,and support. He has high hopes for his future, wanting to become a computer network administrator,own his own company, and have a wife and kids. “It’s not easy; it’s not always a choice to be on the streets," Campbell said. "Sometimes there are things that happen, and we’re not all bad people. Some of us are the greatest people you’ll ever meet [who] are just having a bad situation happen.” Another client, Stephen Norman, says the resource center has been able to provide him with a chance to meet new people, a staff to help him obtain various necessities, a trusting environment, and socialization. He became homeless when he was 19, and from personal experience, he can attest to the need for a place where everyone feels comfortable. The program manager, Charis Pankratz, has been working at the Homeless Youth Resource Center for three and a half years. She believes in empowering youth to make positive choices and providing them with basic needs. “I would say the greatest needs are respect and understanding when it comes to where so many of our youth are coming from, and acknowledging that their stories are part of our stories,” Pankratz said. She is thrilled that Juan Diego Catholic High School will be helping the resource center by putting together the Distance for Destiny 5K fundraiser later this month. Last year, all proceeds from the event went to orphanages in Nicaragua, but there was some controversy about sending the money so far away. This year, the money JD raises from the fundraiser will go to the Homeless Youth Resource Center. Keeping the money in SLC will prevent further controversy from happening in the future. The Distance for Destiny 5K run/walk is set for Saturday, September 29 at 8:30 a.m., coinciding with Juan Diego's Homecoming weekend festivities. Riley Rose, Student Body President and founder of the Distance for Destiny run, is hoping at least 300 people will participate this year, as opposed to the 150 individuals who showed up last year. On the Friday before the race, a tailgate party will feature activities and prizes, a “mini Festival of Roses.” It costs 20 dollars to take part in the 5K, and everyone is encouraged to sign up. “It makes me proud to know I have enough people behind me [who] really are going to push this thing, kids on our student government that are going to work so hard to put it on,” Rose said. “It’s not easy to put on a 5K. It’s a good feeling knowing that I have that support. It’s great to know that all the money is going to be helping kids that are our age as well.” That money from the Distance for Destiny 5K will go directly towards helping homeless youth in the Salt Lake valley. The Homeless Youth Resource Center is full of young adults who have situations most JD students cannot even imagine. However, there are also many success stories that result from the resource center’s efforts. Elina Christensen is a client at the Homeless Youth Resource Center. She was kicked out of her parents’ house with nowhere else to go. “When I went homeless, [the center] was a really big help for me to get back on my feet and have more opportunities,” Christensen said. In the past 12 months, she has gotten herself a home and a job, and she will also be enrolled in school this fall. She is going to culinary school, so she can become a chef and open her own restaurant. “It requires a special person to utilize these resources in a positive way. Elina has done a lot of work,” Knutch said. There are many homeless young people who still need help. Some have nowhere to go at night, no food to eat, and no way to provide for their families. The resource center is not big enough to provide all of these things for every young adult who needs them. However, the money from the Distance for Destiny run will benefit those who need it the most and help them to pursue their dreams. “I feel like I’m always a better person when I leave here at the end of the day,” Pankratz said. “It challenges me. It challenges my world view. It challenges my belief system. It makes me really think about who I am and what I’m doing.”

The Speaking Eagle

JD Students Plan 5K Run to Help Homeless Youth