Red tape threatens home for 'Lost Boys'

ST. GEORGE — The smell of fresh paint is in the air as one walks through the door, stepping onto stone tile still being laid on the ground. Electrical fixtures are being installed, and mixed and matched pieces of furniture are everywhere.

This home near Bluff Street will be a new shelter for the so-called "Lost Boys," teenagers kicked out of the Fundamentalist LDS Church. That is, if they can navigate their way through government bureaucracy to get the home licensed and approved in time for its scheduled Oct. 4 opening.

"I can't put any kids in here. I have five kids, and three more 17-year-olds. What do you do?" Michelle Benward said as she walked through the home Friday.

Benward is the clinical director of Garfield County-based New Frontiers for Families, a nonprofit social service group. It and the Diversity Foundation have put together this home for teenage boys who have either run away from or been kicked out of the FLDS enclaves of Hildale, Utah, and Colorado City, Ariz.

"Every week, I get a new kid," Benward said of the growing number of teens leaving the polygamous border towns.

Advocacy groups estimate there are as many as 1,000 of these Lost Boys. The ones kicked out commit "sins" like wearing too short of a shirt, kissing a girl or refusing to marry. Those who leave say they're tired of the rigid structures of the FLDS faith. Many say their families won't speak to them, afraid of the other children and their eternal salvation within the FLDS Church.

"The kids come with a really good background," said Shannon Price, the director of the Diversity Foundation. "I hear a lot of vilifying of parents in the community. The parents don't have a lot of choice."

These teens often live on the streets or crash with other Lost Boys. Many have run into trouble with drugs, alcohol and the courts. Advocates say it's a problem of "kids raising kids," and an example of why they need this home.

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Generous donations

The home has transformed dramatically since Benward and other advocates first acquired it. A former drop-in care center for senior citizens, it was purchased by an anonymous donor and given to advocates to help the Lost Boys.

Many of the teenagers who will be living here have been donating their time and labor to remodel the home. Many FLDS boys are schooled in the construction trade, and their craftsmanship shows.

"All of the stuff in here was donated," Benward said.

Since the home for the Lost Boys was first reported on by the Deseret Morning News in July, Benward said readers have donated furniture to fill it.

"I have 15 couches," she chuckled.