How the Old Armstrong mansion is still helping build bonds and forming relationships

By student journalists Zach Robinson, Nathalia Montoya, and Sofia Kelson, and TOSA graduate Tori Randall, who now helps manage the academy
April 15, 2024 || KRCL RadioACTive

 

The Armstrong mansion on the corner of 700 East and 100 South in Salt Lake City stands out among the newer, less grand buildings on the block. 

The Queen Anne style building – complete with a rounded tower and iron-flanked balconies – was built in 1892 for the city’s fifth mayor, Francis Armstrong, and his three wives. It was passed down through the family for a while, becoming apartments, a bed and breakfast. Now, it's the cornerstone building of The Other Side Academy – a free life skills school for adults who have struggled with addiction, incarceration and homelessness. 

There are 126 people currently in the program, said Tori Randall, a graduate of the academy who now works with students as a senior program manager. Of those, 13 are women. 

“My story is just like yours,” Randall said of the women at TOSA. “If I can go through what I've went through to be who I am today, so can you … And that's the goal like you want them better than you faster than you.” 

Randall has mentored so many of the women at the academy –  but seven years ago she found herself needing the same support.  That’s one of the things that makes it all work, said Amberlee Truman, who has been at TOSA about eight months. Women who came before her, like Randall, have shown her what’s possible if she sticks around. 

 “I love that she and the women that have been here, they are 100% okay with who they are,” Truman said. “I love how they use their voices. They're okay with telling you how they feel, and they still love you. And it's just something that I admire.”

The mansion, an architectural and historical masterpiece, isn’t a place most people would imagine calling home. But it represents the start of a new life for the women who live there, and it's a symbol of hard work and better things to come. 

“Think of it like you wouldn't grow up in a mansion. You wouldn't think of that the way my lifestyle was,” said Jewel Shane, who at 19 years old is one of the youngest women in the program. “Getting to live here is very nice, and it gives you a sense of well-being. It gives you hope that you can have a future like.”