PRINCETON, Ill. — Every week, hundreds of teens roll in by bus to a two-story haven after school.
"It's building relationships that they must be missing somewhere in their life," Dana VanAutreve said.
Dana and her husband Jeff VanAutreve founded Second Story in 2009, eventually turning the space just above their flooring business into a safe place for kids to hang out after school. "It never ceases to amaze me looking at these kids, playing pool, whatever they're doing and thinking they chose to come up, they want to be here tonight," Dana said.
The husband-wife team were inspired to help because of increasing teen suicide rates in Bureau County. "My son was a big basketball player and when he would go to a different community, he'd always get teased. 'Oh, you're from the suicide town,'" Jeff said.
Their location also offers hot meals, after-school activities and a pantry that provides goods to teens in need. "We've had a couple of them share that if we weren't here, they probably wouldn't be here, they would probably be dead," Jeff said. "Hearing that one story keeps us motivated."
Multiplying good for this long means some kids come and go, but some stay on as volunteers. Dominic Buchanan is one of them.
"It's a place that they'll make you feel like home. It'll make you feel like family, no matter what you go through, what you did. Over here it's a different story," Buchanan said.
Thanks to community support, Second Story will soon embark on a new tale as they look to build a new facility. "To be able to get them out and get them motivated more, and to see that that is going to become such a bigger picture in the new facility, I think gives everyone that excitement," Dana said.
The new location will be at 125 S. Main Street. The VanAutreves are looking to start construction on the new facility in Spring 2024, with the goal to open it by Fall 2024.