| St. George drop-in center, home for 'Lost Boys' opens But no one can live there because of zoning problems | |
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By Ben Winslow Deseret Morning News | |
A home for teens who have been kicked out of or run away from the Fundamentalist LDS Church will open today, but no one will be allowed to live there for at least a few weeks — if not months. That's because bureaucratic red tape in St. George has stalled efforts to get the drop-in center for the so-called "Lost Boys" properly licensed and zoned. "It takes too long to do the right thing," said Michelle Benward, who is helping to put together the home. "I'm hopeful they'll make the right decision for these kids and quickly, because we need this." Benward, the clinical director for the nonprofit social service group New Frontiers for Families, has been trying to get the home opened to shelter the Lost Boys. An anonymous donor bought the house and made it a donation for the teenagers. The eight-bedroom "house just off Bluff," as it's called, is a former care center for senior citizens. Many of the teenage boys who will now be living there have put in hours of labor to remodel it, so it can serve as a combination drop-in center and sometime-housing. Skilled in construction, they have put in new flooring, new appliances, new fixtures and new paint. Community donations have filled the home with furniture. "I've been born and raised in a community that requires daily service anyway," said Frankie, a 21-year-old man who was ousted from the FLDS Church three years ago. He asked that his last name not be used. "It's peace of mind that finally I can be a part of something big. The last few years, I feel like I've been shut down and haven't been a part of anything that's been a blessing to others," he said. 'Lost' children The boys — and some girls — have been ousted from the FLDS Church for a host of "sins," including wearing the wrong kinds of clothing or refusing to marry. Those who have left on their own say they're tired of the rigid structures of the FLDS faith under leader Warren Jeffs. Jeffs, 51, recently was convicted of rape as an accomplice, accused of performing a marriage between a 14-year-old girl and her 19-year-old cousin. He faces up to life in prison when he's sentenced Nov. 20. Advocates estimate there are as many as 1,000 of these Lost Boys in the area who live on the streets, in cars, or crash in crowded apartments with other kids from Short Creek — the communities of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz. Most have little education or adult supervision. Social service workers say it's a problem of "kids raising kids" because their parents won't speak to them, afraid for the security of other children and their family's salvation in the FLDS Church. Some teens have gotten into trouble with the law, ending up jailed on alcohol and drug charges. "I hope that young people that leave there will see there's more to life than hell," said Frankie. "If I'd had this opportunity three years ago, I'd have jumped for it." Shannon Price, the director of the Diversity Foundation, which helps these teens, says the home is necessary to give them structure, education and support. "Their welfare, their stability, their ability to have resources is so important that we have to work with these kids now," she said Wednesday. "To have to have this bureaucracy that doesn't seem to get that ..." Red tape An application for zoning and licensing for the home was submitted to the city of St. George over the summer. Benward said she was supposed to have received a response by Aug. 15 but never got any word from the city. When the Deseret Morning News began inquiring about the delays in September, city officials contacted Benward and said she needed to submit an application for a zoning change. The Utah Attorney General's Office even sent a letter to the mayor and other city officials. "These boys need a home now — not tomorrow, not months from now, but right now," said Paul Murphy, who coordinates programs to reach out to people in closed polygamous societies. The zoning application is now slowly winding its way through the various channels of city government. "It's real sad that St. George won't zone this place when their own community has been built on the backs of me and a thousand other young men," Frankie said of the delays. In hopes of getting it through, advocates have appealed to St. George Mayor Dan McArthur for help. "Obviously, it's something that's needed," he said Tuesday. "But how do we accommodate it without opening the floodgates again?" The "floodgates" to which McArthur is referring are facilities for troubled teens, which have come to Utah's Dixie in numbers. The schools offer rehabilitation programs for difficult teenagers, who come mostly from out-of-state. "We have such an influx of these schools taking over hotels. We had them all through our community," the mayor said. "We actually had to change our ordinance that says you can't have residential in a commercial zone." An unintended consequence is the ordinance also prohibits homes like the shelter for the Lost Boys. McArthur said he expects the home will need to be changed from a commercial zone to a residential zone so that it can shelter the teens. The process to get it through the planning commission and the City Council could take a few weeks or a few months. "We're trying to avoid opening up a can of worms that we had before and make our zoning work," McArthur said. Open house At today's open house, advocates want members of the community to see what their donations have gone toward. "The community, the kids have invested in this home," Price said. "It's a point of refuge for them and safety." After the Deseret Morning News first published a story about plans for the shelter in July, readers donated some of the furniture to fill it. The Lowe's home improvement chain donated counter-tops. The local Lutheran church donated quilts. Deseret Industries, part of the welfare arm of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, donated beds for the home. (The FLDS Church is a breakaway sect.) But no one can live there until the home is licensed and zoned. The advocates for the home won't exactly say if they'll house the kids illegally. "If they don't crash there, they're going to crash on the streets," Price said. A donation account to help run the home has been set up at Wells Fargo Bank, under the name "The House Just Off Bluff." The open house is from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at 82 W. 700 South in St. George. E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com | |
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deseretnews.com Originally published October 4, 2007 | |
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