One of the schools to receive a grant was Polaris High School, an alternative school located in American Fork that serves students from all over Alpine School District.

The grant will be used to bring more resources for students and enhance already existing resources, said Polaris High Director Hannah Figueiredo.

“We are just really excited for the opportunity to have the access to the resources to give our students,” she said.

Mary Catherine Perry, director of policy and government affairs at the Policy Project, said after her organization spearheaded a project to get free menstrual products in all schools, they learned schools also needed resources to help students facing homelessness or struggling financially.

“At the heart of every community is a school,” Perry said. “And so that’s where we want our children to be. That’s where we want them to thrive.”

According to the Crossroads Urban Center, more than 1,800 children spent a night in a Utah homeless shelter during the first eight months of 2023. Almost 70% of Utah children who stayed in a shelter this year are part of a family experiencing homelessness for the first time.

“We know that youth that are fed and clean and clothed just have better confidence to connect and achieve, and that really is our goal,” Figueiredo said.

Perry said for schools that have created a resource center, administrators are often surprised at how many students come and utilize the resources.

“But a lot of those needs … we call them silent needs. Because high school students, they just want to blend in,” she said.

Figueiredo said the school has been wanting to get a washer and dryer for students to have a place to wash their clothes if they don’t have that resource at home and this grant will help them purchase that equipment.

She said Polaris High already has a food pantry and clothing resources for students, but the $250,000 they received will help them bring in more resources.

Figueiredo said they would like to get more perishable food items for their pantry, like milk and eggs. Through the grant, the school would be able to get a refrigerator and increase its food supply so it’s not limited to nonperishables like macaroni and cheese or ramen noodles.

The school also wants to use the center to host classes to teach students basic life skills like cooking and sewing.

Figueiredo said they also plan on improving the school social worker’s work space to make it “less office” and more comfortable for students during interactions.

“What we’re learning is that all students have needs and really what our goal is is that we can serve any student when they have the need,” she said.

The new resource center should be fully functional by next summer, with much of the work set to be completed by the end of the year.

The Legislature provided $15 million for the project during this year’s legislative session and donations brought in an additional $3 million, according to the Policy Project’s website.

Now that the first round of applications has closed, Perry said there is still $4 million left to be allocated and encouraged other schools in Utah County to apply in the next round of grant applications.

Applications don’t have to be for an entire resource center build-out, Perry said. If schools only need funding for something simple like a food pantry, they are still encouraged to apply for a grant.