With more than 200 young people aging out of foster care across Nebraska each year, up to 40 percent of them are likely to become houseless. But a new community designed to provide housing and job opportunities for former foster children offers a rebirth for the old Dana College campus in Blair, about 20 miles north of Omaha.

“Today in Nebraska, it’s very likely that a young person aging out the foster care system will celebrate their 19th birthday by being dropped off at a homeless shelter or at a friend’s house to sleep on a couch,” said Chris Tonniges, president and chief executive officer at Lutheran Family Services. “They’ll most likely have all their possessions in a garbage bag.”

Dana College closed in 2010 because of financial issues. Previous plans included expanding Midland University to the campus following the Fremont school’s embrace of former Dana students. About 150 people, including Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Blair State Senator Ben Hansen and Blair Mayor Mindy Rump, attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony Feb. 9 to celebrate the launch of Dana Village.

For Kip Tyler, Dana Village is redemption for his alma mater. The Lutheran minister served on Dana’s board of regents when the 140-year-old school received word from the state higher learning commission help wasn’t coming for the financially-strapped school and that it would close.

“It was one of the darkest days of my life,” Tyler said. “I felt like my heart was clinging to those walls (of the school) and was pierced.”

But, Dana Village creates a bridge to the campus’ future, he said.

“I had a friend out in Washington, another Lutheran pastor, several months later (after the school’s closure), talking to her about the whole thing,” Tyler said. “She said some words I’ve been hanging on to for over a decade. She said God does his best work in death and resurrection. So I’ve been waiting a long time to see signs of resurrection, and I think we’re seeing it again at the college.”

Building on a seven-year-old project originated by Angel Share, Dana Village will include apartments and a community events center. With 61 apartments preparing to open within the next month at Blair Hall, once a dormitory for the Lutheran college, more than 100 people can live in the building. The new apartments will be home to studios as well as one- and two-bedroom units. The complex includes apartments compliant with the Americans with Disability Act.

With another former dormitory targeted for development, Dana Village will be home to a few hundred people, said Jeff Barnhart, a spokesperson for Lutheran Family Services. Apartments are leased based on income, he said.

Ten young people who had aged out of foster care and a senior citizen currently live in an apartment building previously renovated by Angel Share. The Omaha-based organization has also renovated a church on the campus.

After developer Frank Krejci donated the campus to Angel Share, Larry Shada made it his life’s mission to create homes for youths often left to fend for themselves after foster care. Shada, who enjoyed a career in banking, spent time meeting houseless people on the streets of Omaha. Realizing several young people became drug addicts and sex workers, Shada knew something had to be done to help them.

Acknowledging that  Lutheran Family Services has the resources and connections to grow the project, Angel Share agreed to merge its operation with the Omaha-based organization.

“It was just me standing on a corner with a banjo and symbols between my knees and stepping on a drum and blowing on a horn,” Shada said. “Attracting someone like Lutheran Family Services is an affirmation of what we were doing.”

While providing a home for former foster children between the ages of 19 and 25, the 10-year $105-million project will also offer job training and placement, as well as trauma therapy and counseling for residents, Tonniges said. Some former foster children turn to drug use and sex work while being homeless, he said.

Blair companies, such as Cargill and Dollar General warehouse, will need up to 1,000 more workers over the next five years, providing opportunities for young people, Barnhart said. Volunteers will help them prepare for job opportunities, he said.

Barnhart said, with expansion including more apartments and a community center, a Dana-based restaurant may become a reality at the Hunt Building – once a student cafeteria.

“We are planning to partner with organizations to revitalize some of the kitchen space to not only teach skills, but ultimately get a lot of these kids to their next generation of work,” he said. “In the long term, that (onsite restaurant) would be amazing for the wellbeing of people who live here on campus.”