Ogden OUTreach credits publicity for surge in donations

Source: Standard-Examiner, Ogden, UtahDec.迷利倉 15--OGDEN -- The director of an agency that distributes help for homeless youth says she marks time by publicity surrounding their need.Since Oct. 30 when a Standard-Examiner story touched the heartstrings of the community, Marian Edmonds Allen, executive director of OUTreach Resource Centers, said donations have poured in from far and wide.Within days of the story (.standard.net/stories/2013/10/30/huntsville-woman-works-aid-utah-homeless-children) people responded with truckloads of donations. And more sites for collection sprung up almost immediately.The momentum for people caring about runaway youth living on the streets has continued to increase during the last six weeks, Allen said."This is probably the ninth or tenth load," said Laura Warburton, a volunteer who has spurred the publicity, when she was looking at a room full of donations. "This has been amazing. ... People have been going above and beyond what anyone could have expected."This week, several groups brought truckloads of donations to Ogden OUTreach, including a group whose organizers traveled from Lehi to bring help to Ogden kids and beyond.And Warburton named dozens of other groups for ongoing support in the past six weeks."I walked into a Recreation Outlet and told (the manager) what I was doing and he handed me three loads of supplies," Warburton said.While she said naming everyone who has helped would be impossible, she listed some of the biggest ones as Mountain View Title and Equity Real Estate, Century 21 Gage Froerer & Associates, Valley View Market, Weber High School and Snowcrest Junior High.She said these businesses and schools have each collected mountains of donations.Ogden OUTreach has become a gathering place for donations to serve youth from throughout the Top of Utah.Allen said she is duplicating the success of the Ogden program in other areas, including in Clearfield, Brigham City, Logan and Tremonton. She hopes to also start centers in other areas throughout the state.And while those involved celebrated the success of a small community appeal recently, they outlined ways to make real changes.A bill is now being written for the upcoming Utah Legislative session that will address limitations for agencies such as Ogden OUTreach for helping the homeless youth.Currently, youth who seek help from a recognized agency have only eight hours to receive help and then they have to leave or be reported to authorities who will take them into state custody.Utah Rep. Gage Froerer (R, District 8), who will sponsor the bill, said runaway youth don't want to be reported so they live on the streets.Froerer said the 40 more hours being propose4d will make a difference in changing the outcomes in many situations where youth run away."Hopefully in 48 hours, we can get parents involved and hopefully we can get them back in the home," Froerer said. "It saves taxpayer money. It helps parents and kids."But he said the legislation will succeed not just because it saves taxpayer money in the long run."It's really what is best for the kids, not what is best for the government," he said.Froerer said the proposed new law would not take away the responsibility of helping agencies to notify parents where their children are.And facilities helping them would still have to be licensed.Froerer said h迷你倉 is working with agencies including the Department of Child and Family Services and the attorney general's office in creating the bill and that authorities seem pleased with the bill and its wording.On Wednesday, piles of coats, socks and shampoo covered dozens of tables set up at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Ogden, the headquarters of Ogden OUTreach.But those who care about the youth took only a few minutes to celebrate the donations.Most of their conversations were about how to help the youth get off the streets so they won't need those items at all.Warburton learned, during those conversations, that currently there is no statewide funding for counting homeless youth.Allen said she was recruiting volunteers who would be the primary workers in the upcoming January Point in Time Count to estimate homeless numbers."If you don't know what you're starting out with, how can you fix it?" Allen said.Warburton said not knowing the size and scope of the problem has got to contribute to the complexity of solving the issue.She said those who follow homelessness believe there are 5,000 youth runaways now on the streets in Utah.Allen said she believes those estimates are low.Shan Sullivan, managing director of Exploring Sainthood, a worldwide group of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who have formed an alliance for service projects, traveled with her children from Lehi to serve dinner at Ogden OUTreach and to drop of donations of sketch books, drawing pencils, bus tokens and money to replace computers at the center Wednesday."We came last month for the first time," Sullivan said. "Everyone with me said 'Shan, we have to do this again.'"Sullivan said members of her group wanted to return because they love being with the youth who congregate there."They are doing so much good here," she said. "We just love the whole experience from start to finish."Liberty resident Marla Rains was there to drop of some donations she'd collected."It just gives me a good feeling," she said, noting the ease of collecting donations during the recent cold weather."I said to people at my church 'Just think whatever someone might need that has slept out last night,'" she said.Warburn said Wednesday's success at receiving donations and help was bittersweet for her.In the process of sorting and distributing the donations, Warburton said she met a 14-year-old homeless youth who was there to find himself some socks.She said she was touched when he wanted a few pairs, explaining that he wanted enough to last at least two weeks.Her humility came when he said the socks would only last longer if he could get someone to wash them.She said she asked herself where a homeless youth goes to wash his clothes and his body in this weather."They are fugitives," she said.Those wanting to make a donation for homeless youth, may contact Allen at 801-686-4528. Donations may be dropped of Wednesdays after 3 p.m. at Ogdeen OUTreach, located at the Ogden Unitarian Universalist Church, 705 E. 23rd Street. Ring the doorbell on the back door for help.Contact reporter JaNae Francis at 801-625-4228 or jfrancis@standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @jfrancis.Copyright: ___ (c)2013 the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) Visit the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) at .standard.net Distributed by MCT Information Services自存倉