SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — A local youth shelter is collecting donations before winter to make a difference. Organizers will help those in the area experiencing homelessness or who might just need a bit of help.

Dozens of people stopped by on Saturday in Scranton to pitch in and help serve teenagers in northeastern Pennsylvania at the shelter’s newest space.

NEPA Youth Shelter in Scranton hosted a housewarming fundraiser Saturday evening to celebrate their new teen center.

“I honestly can’t find the words for it. I’m speechless, even now, but when I walked in, the walls were still being built, and I knew just then it was going to be a masterpiece,” NEPA Youth Shelter Volunteer, Jay Herb, told 28/22 News.

The center on Providence Road filled up with donors, volunteers, and former teens who used the programs the youth shelter offers, all for a night of fundraising and connection.

“We had construction going on for the last couple months, and finally were able to open our doors to our young people and celebrate. So, we’re here celebrating in the very same place that our young people get together to hang out after school every day, and so we’re really excited to be able to have that sense of community right now,” NEPA Youth Shelter Board President, Andrew Cutillo, stated.

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The new location opened its doors to teens a month ago, and now it sees about fifty or sixty teens a night. With a pantry, a clothing closet, and even a recording booth all at their disposal, the kids were blown away by what the center now offers.

“I remember hearing one of them saying, ‘This is my new home, this is my new home.’ So, that’s the kind of feeling that we want to give these young people is that this is their space, this is their place to be themselves. We have all the support and everything in the world we could possibly offer them here, and they get to just be themselves,” Cutillo continued.

Former teen center students are grateful for that welcoming feeling, holding their memories close to their hearts.

“It helped me break through my social anxiety, and it’s to a point where nowadays, I can get on a stage and perform in front of hundreds of people or be in front of a camera for a movie production. If it wasn’t for the center helping me be able to break my social anxiety, I don’t know where I’d be today,” Herb added.

Herb now spends time making an impact on kids who are now where he was not so long ago.

“I’m only 22, but at one point, I was 17 coming to the center, and I was just like them. Being able to spend my time here, my attention here, I’ve been able to break the barrier between what the stigma is and what we can control, which is the future. We can put down a device and pick up a book, pick up some education,” Herb said.

The NEPA Youth Shelter Teen Center is open every weekday after school hours until 7:00 p.m. for teens in need.

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