SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE\/WYOU) \u2014 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.<\/p>\n
Dozens of people stopped by on Saturday in Scranton to pitch in and help serve teenagers in northeastern Pennsylvania at the shelter\u2019s newest space.<\/p>\n
NEPA Youth Shelter in Scranton hosted a housewarming fundraiser Saturday evening to celebrate their new teen center.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly can\u2019t find the words for it. I\u2019m 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,\u201d NEPA Youth Shelter Volunteer, Jay Herb, told 28\/22 News.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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\u2019re here celebrating in the very same place that our young people get together to hang out after school every day, and so we\u2019re really excited to be able to have that sense of community right now,\u201d NEPA Youth Shelter Board President, Andrew Cutillo, stated.<\/p>\n
Hundreds rally behind longtime Luzerne County first responder <\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI remember hearing one of them saying, \u2018This is my new home, this is my new home.\u2019 So, that\u2019s 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,\u201d Cutillo continued.<\/p>\n Former teen center students are grateful for that welcoming feeling, holding their memories close to their hearts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt helped me break through my social anxiety, and it\u2019s 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\u2019t for the center helping me be able to break my social anxiety, I don\u2019t know where I\u2019d be today,\u201d Herb added.<\/p>\n Herb now spends time making an impact on kids who are now where he was not so long ago.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m 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\u2019ve 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,\u201d Herb said.<\/p>\n