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BOUNTIFUL — Norse mythology defines Valhalla as heaven — a place of honor, glory and happiness.
For the Vikings of Viewmont High School, Valhalla was an obvious moniker for their newly opened student center, which will provide vital resources to students experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity.
The school held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday to celebrate the opening of the new student center, Valhalla.
"We always talk about how these centers help our most vulnerable students. That includes those who are without adequate housing and those who might just need one snack, one time," said Zach Wheatley, center coordinator. "I think that when they know how much support is behind their adverse situations ... that ripple effect is going to last for years."
The center will provide students space at the school where they can shower, wash clothes, cook a hot meal and access quiet study and relaxation rooms. Additionally, it will provide hygiene kits, food and other resources crucial to student success.
"The Valhalla Student Center is more than just a building. It is a symbol of hope, resilience and compassion for our students experiencing crisis," said Jodi Lunt, director of the Davis Education Foundation. "We are humbled by the kindness and generosity of our partners, donors and volunteers who have turned this vision into a reality. Our mission is to empower every student to overcome the obstacles that hinder their learning, to access the educational opportunities that enrich their lives and to foster the partnerships that strengthen our community through giving."
According to the foundation, more than 1,300 students in the Davis district can be classified as homeless, lacking access to basic resources and necessities that seem like a given to many of their peers.
With this in mind, the foundation has spearheaded the opening of teen centers at Clearfield High School, Northridge High School, Layton High School, Mountain High School, Woods Cross High School, the Renaissance Academy and, now Viewmont High School — with plans to open additional centers at Syracuse and Bountiful high schools.
Two days after Utah Gov. Spencer Cox's symposium on service, his wife, Abby Cox, spoke about the service teen centers provide to students throughout the Beehive State.
"There's so much research around one caring adult in a child's life and here is a room full of caring adults," Abby Cox said. "For each student that comes through this center, they're going to have a community that wraps around them, that loves them, that shows that they belong and that when they graduate ... they are going to look back and see that somebody cared. And that's how we get upstream and that's how we create a loving and belonging community."
Wheatley, who also coaches football and lacrosse at Viewmont High School alongside his role as coordinator of the Valhalla Student Center, said he sees himself as a "facilitator of resources." Essentially, he helps students get whatever they need to be comfortable and successful.
He also said he believes having a student center helps combat the stigma for students feeling like they can't ask for help — or that no one will listen if/when they do. This is physically encapsulated by the fact the center doesn't have any blinds and looks out into the parking lot at Viewmont High School.
"We want the inherent stigma to kind of be removed. And so anybody seeing in ... we don't care who's in here because we want this to be a resource for the entire school, not just a select group of students, although they will use it more than the rest of the student population, we want everybody to feel welcome and we don't want anybody to feel any type of way about being in here," Wheatley said, adding that he's already seen the stigma around reaching out for help lessen.
Along with study and relaxation rooms, there is space for in-house therapists who are already embedded at the school to provide mental health services to any student who needs them.
"We're here today because of what this means (and) what this community has done to say, 'We're not going to allow that. We're not going to sit idly by and let students in those situations not at least feel loved and supported by this community,'" said Dan Linford, superintendent of the Davis School District.
Like their Norse mascot, the students, staff and faculty at Viewmont High School hope the aptly named Valhalla Student Center will serve as a place of honor, glory and happiness for students who need it the most.
