When You Support The SHACK, You Support…

When you support The SHACK, you support youth right in your own community. You give them a safe place, positive friendships, and impactful guidance from mentors they trust and respect. The return on that investment can best be measured with stories. When you support The SHACK, you support students like...  

Aysa

When Aysa McMillan started coming to The SHACK in 5th grade, it was a fun place where she could unwind and be herself. In 6th grade, she experienced her first relationship and was deeply hurt when it ended. She slid into depression, used her misery to seek attention, and became “toxic.”

“I was constantly spewing out negative stuff and was always trying to seek out drama, drama, drama. I lost all of my friends because of that.” 

But, Aysa still came to The SHACK, to her safe place. 

She worked through her negative thoughts and actions with SHACK Program Director Jenn Patrick and began to learn how to be a real friend.

“After I learned how to word things and how to approach a subject, how to read the room and the timing, I’ve gained a lot more friends and I’ve learned a lot more about myself,” Aysa says. “In order to do that, you need an environment and a place for that to happen. I feel like The SHACK can house that.” 

For Aysa, The SHACK remains a fun place where she can unwind and be herself. But it’s influence extends much deeper, she says. Because of what she’s learning at The SHACK, her grades are improving, she quit smoking, and she is proud of who she’s becoming — positives that will last a lifetime.  

Zach

Few would disagree with Zach Rice when he says, “Middle school is a hard phase to go through.” 

Friends change, school changes, expectations change. 

You change. 

“You’re expected to do more, be more, do better, be better,” Zach says. 

It’s a lot to handle, and Zach has seen his peers handle it in many different ways — some healthy, and some not so healthy. He is just thankful he had a safe place like The SHACK to turn to in those transitional years. 

Now in 10th grade, Zach still turns to The SHACK to find a positive atmosphere where he can get his mind off things — and even give back to the community by helping with projects like installing the disc golf course. 

“It is a Christian community, so it does really help with positive outlooks and being who you want to be,” Zach says. “It’s really a place where you see yourself, you see who you want to be and who you want to define yourself as.”

The SHACK may be small, but it’s producing big aspirations in students like Zach who wants to go to college, find a solid career, settle down and, ultimately, “be a good person for the people around me.”  

Madi 

If she could, she would come to The SHACK every day. For Madi Nelson, this 900-square-foot space has become “home away from home.” 

Yes, the bean bag chairs are cozy, and the games are fun, but what Madi has found most is a place where she is valued and her heart is encouraged by staff and fellow students, alike.  

A 10th grader at Basin High School, Madi has always felt like “a bit of an outcast,” like she isn’t even noticed at her school.  

Not so at The SHACK. 

“Here, I just feel included. I have a lot of friends, and it’s nice seeing everyone,” Madi says. “It’s nice to find my own group of people.” 

Madi lives with her mom in Basin. Her mom is so glad to not see her “shut in like a hermit crab” that she gladly drives Madi over as often as possible, even using her lunch hour on Fridays for the trip. 

With each visit, Madi discovers she is more social than she thought, and she is gaining courage to pursue her dream of either becoming a teacher or joining the Coast Guard. 

In the meantime, she’ll be at The SHACK as often as she can, her heart and mind encouraged to just be who God made her to be. 

Hailee

Ninth grader Hailee Boson is the first to admit her family has a past. It’s a difficult past scarred with the fallout of drug and alcohol abuse and poor choices. But, just like anyone, she doesn’t want to be judged for it because it’s not who she is. 

That’s why Hailee loves The SHACK. At The SHACK, Hailee is accepted as she is by staff and fellow students. She has friends. She finds encouragement to be herself and to make good choices.

“When I hang out at The SHACK, I feel like I can have fun without [drugs and alcohol], like I do not need that in my life,” Hailee says. “I know there’s people who care about me here.” 

It’s that kind of acceptance and accountability that students need — and find — at The SHACK. 

For Hailee, it has helped her navigate the trauma of her past and the drama of being a teenager  — even if she’s still working on curbing her sharp wit and sarcasm. It has helped her accept herself and given her the courage to look toward a future that includes college, a career, and, most definitely, no drugs.

“I go here when I’m depressed, when I’m sad, and it doesn’t matter,” Hailee says. “This place has always cheered me up.”