BREAKING GROUND: Pictured with local officials, Natalie Tung, fourth from left, co-founded HomeWorks Trenton to give high school girls the tools to succeed. The organization has officially begun the renovation of an existing house into its permanent home.

By Anne Levin

This past weekend, construction got underway on the transformation of a free-standing house into the cozy headquarters for HomeWorks Trenton, an after-school boarding program for marginalized girls who attend the city’s public schools.

If all goes according to schedule, 42 high school girls, staff, and their families will be living in the repurposed, state-of-the-art building on Edgewood Avenue, near Cadwalader Park, by September of next year. The young scholars, as co-founder Natalie Tung refers to them, will go home on weekends but live in the facility during the week. The idea is to provide a supportive environment that will prepare the young residents to excel in high school, college, and beyond through tutoring, leadership development, and community involvement.

Present for the November 10 groundbreaking were local leaders including Mercer County Executive Dan Benson, Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, Mercer County Commissioner Samuel Frisby, Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, and Trenton Councilwoman Teska Frisby.

“The turnout was incredible,” Tung said. “It was supposed to rain, and we really weren’t sure how many people would show up. I think we had around 80 — our neighbors, families, volunteers, every kind of supporter. We really felt the power of community, and it was thrilling.”

It was back in 2016 that Tung, then a sophomore at Princeton University doing some teaching at Trenton High School, first came up with the HomeWorks concept. Previous to Princeton, the Hong Kong native had graduated from the Lawrenceville School. She wondered if that kind of supportive, boarding school experience could be brought to the girls she was teaching — whom she witnessed too often as destructively pitting themselves against each other.

Three years ago, Princeton architecture firm JZA+D, headed by Joshua Zinder, got involved in the project, and is designing the building’s renovation. A recent gift of $2.1 million from the Lumena Foundation is the largest in the nonprofit’s history, and will significantly expand its reach.

“Lumena Foundation searches for sources of light,” said Michaela Finley, Lumena’s co-founder and co-director, in a press release. “Think of us as a venture fund without capitalism. We seek, find, and invest in inspired organizations and individuals committed to securing the rights, autonomy, and choices of all women. By investing in a permanent home for HomeWorks, we’re saying a loud ‘yes!’ to identity-driven leadership for the young women of Trenton.”

Tung said the new building will not only serve as an anchor for the organization, but will help establish it as a model for similar ventures across the country and the world. Dorm rooms, study spaces, a teaching kitchen, teen lounge, office space, outdoor learning space, and laundry facilities are part of Zinder’s design.

“The laundry room is so important, because we’ve found that it can be a big barrier for chronic absenteeism,” said Tung.

A continuing campaign seeks to raise $7 million for the project to support the building and erase existing debts.

“In terms of where we are today, it’s because our community is behind us,” said Tung. “It’s such a major milestone to think of how HomeWorks was a class project back in 2016. And now we’re breaking ground on an entire campus. It give me so much hope about what is to come, and the vision we have of what we want HomeWorks to be. This is just the beginning.”