SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — In its mission toward supporting the community’s most vulnerable, a youth shelter in Lackawanna County has been a place teens can rely on for support after school.
John Rosengrant fills up a wagon with backpacks, binders, and other school supplies at the NEPA Youth Shelter in Scranton, but it’s not staying inside.
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It’s to fill a table outside for kids to grab what they need from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, as the non-profit is under construction at its new location off Providence Road.
“It took some creativity and some conversation about how we’re going to do that, but we decided that we’re going to put tables outside and we’re going to make the resources available to them, even though we can’t let them in the building,” explained Rosengrant.
Rosengrant recently took over as executive director of the nonprofit that is an after-school drop-in and resource center for students in the area.
“Today’s world is not like it was 20 or 30 years ago, right? Kids are experiencing more challenges in their home life, more challenges at school,” said Rosengrant.
Not just getting ready with school supplies, but also clothes. One of the clothing racks includes warm winter jackets, making sure students are prepared for the winter months.
The organization takes pride in offering a safe space for teens.. And once reopened sometime in October, they’ll be back up and running to serve hot meals, open their teen center, and even bring back their recording studio for kids.
Trying to meet the demand of the critical needs they’re seeing in the county.
“Kids who are coming by and asking to fill their backpacks with food because they don’t know if they’re going to have anything to eat tonight,” said Rosengrant.
Working to keep its shelves filled and doors open, the shelter runs solely on donations and the support of the community.
The NEPA Youth Shelter also offers a housing program for teens 18 to 21 who are experiencing homelessness, and a mental health therapist for students at no cost.
