"I wish something like this had been around when I got out to help me make the transition," said Matt Bauer, who dropped out of the Alta Academy near Salt Lake City, where FLDS leader Warren Jeffs was principal.

Now 28, he is acting as a "house daddy" while he goes to college. He keeps the young men on track with chores and homework. They live in this modest white home with numerous bedrooms, two kitchens and most importantly, a structured environment.

Advocates say that when teens leave the fundamentalist towns, they have trouble transitioning from one culture to another. Some wind up living on the streets, some get involved in drugs or crime.

The House Just Off Bluff was created to help stop that problem. The home was bought by an anonymous donor. The kids put in the labor to remodel the home, the supplies were made possible through generous community donations from stores, churches and community groups. After a story about the home appeared in the Deseret News last year, it was flooded with furniture.

The teens who stay at the house are put in school, taught life skills and given family support and therapy services.

"You've gotta love them. They're just kids, they're just teenagers," Bauer said.

Teenagers continue to leave the FLDS communities, but the reasons are changing.

"There's not as many getting booted under the direction of their leaders," Benward said.

It used to be that they were ousted for committing a "sin," such as kissing a girl, wearing a short-sleeved shirt or going to a movie. Others left rather than adhere to the FLDS Church's rigid structures.

Now, some parents are willing to help ensure their child isn't just abandoned.

"We have a 15-year-old who is here now with the permission of his parents, because they weren't able to manage him in Colorado City," Benward said. "I think they're leaving for different reasons. I think they're leaving because their community doesn't have the solutions it needs to take care of their kids, especially teenagers."

A state grant through the Utah Department of Community and Culture helped fund the home last year. The Diversity Foundation, set up by ex-FLDS member Dan Fischer to help the "Lost Boys," kicks in some more funding. Other money is scraped together.

"They have identified a very unique need, and they are very passionate about it and are doing great work," said Lloyd Pendleton, the director of the homeless task force for the Utah Department of Community and Culture.

He acknowledged the problems of the "Lost Boys" have been largely ignored for years. Another year's worth of state funding for the House Just Off Bluff is pending approval from the state. The state's homeless coordinating committee is scheduled to decide funding on Wednesday.