The girls want to go for a shopping trip at Park Royal, says youth worker Shane Nunn. Beside him, 16-year-old Yogi Klein is chopping onions. He piles the onions onto a plate with shredded carrots and other vegetables and shrugs his shoulders to acknowledge he鈥檚 fine with whatever outing his friends choose.听
Through the kitchen doorway in the lounge, 16-year-old Kazuhiro Nishigata racks up the balls on the pool table as two of his buddies pick out their cue sticks. The international exchange students tease each other in Mandarin while setting up the game. For the past two months, this is where the jovial gaggle can be found after school, honing their pool skills at the Squamish Youth Resource Centre.听
鈥淚 was skateboarding and one of the youth workers told me about a free turkey dinner on Thanksgiving,鈥� Nishigata says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know that we even had this centre.鈥�
Across from them, 18-year-old Bradley Neilson intently focuses on a video game he鈥檚 playing on the large-screen TV. Wrapped in a warm blanket and nestled into a large black leather couch, Savannah Lacourisere, 16, watches the game over Neilson鈥檚 shoulder. She occasionally adds friendly commentary on his character鈥檚 moves.听
鈥淵ou always know someone will be here,鈥� Neilson says of the youth centre, while pausing the game for a short break. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 a good meeting point.鈥澨�
Youth worker Allie Livesey pops her head in the room to ask if anyone wants a smoothie made with the plants the youth cultivated in their outside vegetable garden. Livesey, who studied community development, has worked at the youth centre for the past year. It鈥檚 been amazing, she says; Livesey loves being there for the youth and helping empower them.听
鈥淲hatever they want to be doing, we are at a place that can make that happen,鈥� she says. On Wednesday nights, youth from the centre visit Brennan Park Recreation Centre to use the facility鈥檚 pool and ice rink, and there鈥檚 the popular dodgeball Friday nights against the Squamish RCMP.听
As Nunn passes around a bowl of popcorn, he jumps into the conversation. For Nunn the job as a youth worker found him, rather than him finding it. A year and a half ago, the youth at the centre asked Nunn to work there. The 30-year-old skateboarder got to know the teenagers during his sessions at the skatepark adjacent to the youth centre. The youth trusted him and wanted him on staff.
鈥淚 really like working with the kids,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think I have a good rapport with them and the job is a lot of fun.鈥�
It鈥檚 also constantly evolving depending on the demands and needs of the youth at the centre. On occasion, Nunn has helped find youth housing or taken them grocery shopping. He鈥檚 lent a helping hand, touching up resumes and scouting out job opportunities.听
The youth centre has an emergency youth food bank and a free shop where teenagers can switch or pick up clothes. The centre is also a source of free health-care items such as free hygiene kits, condoms and pregnancy tests.听
In the winter, the youth centre snowboard team whips into gear. The program allows youth with financial barriers to be a part of a team and go snowboarding once a week at Whistler Blackcomb.听
While it offers an abundance of free resources, there is much more that goes on at the youth centre. The activities and facility attract a diverse crowd. On Thanksgiving, 23 teenagers sat around a giant table in the centre to share a holiday meal, and recently, a group of teenagers interested in art went on a trip to the Vancouver Art Gallery.听
鈥淲e want parents to come and just see this place,鈥� Nunn says, noting that the staff has made huge steps to improve upon the non-judgmental environment at the drug- and alcohol-free facility. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a really great centre.鈥�
Last year, the centre had 3,253 visits. While many Squamish youth have strengthened their own foundations and built a sense of self within the youth centre, the building鈥檚 walls have been crumbling. Three years ago, with the help of Home Depot, the teenagers who called the centre their second home gave it a facelift. They eagerly painted walls that hadn鈥檛 been touched for 12 years. But more major renovations were required, as was obvious to the District of Squamish, the body that funds the centre to the tune of $250,000 annually, and Sea to Sky Community Services (SSCS), which manages it.听
The question of what to do with the 50-year-old former police station has come up before. The centre was placed on the chopping block in the district鈥檚 proposed 2014 municipal budget. At the time, the municipality鈥檚 director of recreation services, Tim Hoskin, said the building required $320,000 worth of upgrades. District staff proposed the building be demolished and the programming moved to either the Squamish Seniors鈥� Centre or the Brennan Park Recreation Centre.
Luckily, neither suggestion came to fruition, says Kathy Daniels, outreach manager for Sea to Sky Community Services. While she knows a new location must be found or the building renovated, moving it to the seniors鈥� centre or rec centre wouldn鈥檛 work, she says. The teens aged 13 to 18 who attend the centre want their own private space, an area that feels truly theirs.听
鈥淲hat we try and provide is a place they feel welcome and accepted,鈥� Daniels says, noting that doesn鈥檛 fit well with a room that doubles as a youth centre within a bigger facility.听
鈥淔or me, I think the best thing would be to stay in the downtown area. I like the idea of them being close to the heart of the community.鈥�
The youth centre鈥檚 fate will have to be decided in the next couple of years, says Mayor Patricia Heintzman. The long-term Real Estate and Facilities Strategy planned for next year will touch on the future of the location of the youth centre.听
鈥淲e need to make that decision fairly soon,鈥� she explains, noting if council votes to build a new youth centre, construction could take up to a year.
The district did recently make some lighting upgrades at the facility and conducted mould remediation. However, those improvements are just band-aids, Heintzman says.听
As it stands, the building currently needs repairs to its exterior walls, doors, windows and floor at an estimated cost of $220,000. Over the next 10 years, district staff anticipate a further $200,000 will have to be poured into the building鈥檚 roof, plumbing, heating and cooling units.
Like Daniels, Heintzman says she doesn鈥檛 think the rec or seniors centres provide alternatives.听
鈥淚 just don鈥檛 think you are going to get the value in the program if it is not in the right place.鈥�
Having finished cooking, Klein adds his two cents鈥� worth. The youth centre has a lot going for it, he says. There鈥檚 air hockey, pool, video games, and it鈥檚 a place to come if you just want to hang out. The reputation that it only serves 鈥渂ad kids鈥� is false, he continues. He has a lot of friends at the centre, and people making trouble are quickly asked to leave.听
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 much that is missing,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t is in a pretty good spot, although it is kind of hidden. There are a lot of people that walk by and don鈥檛 even see it.鈥澨�
Whatever decision officials make, they need to understand the major role the centre plays in the lives of its users, Klein notes. Upgrades and making the centre visible and linked with the greater community are good steps, but ultimately the facility is for the teenagers.
听鈥淚f it disappears I would feel really sad,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 just love coming here every day. There is everything to do here.鈥�
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Open house
On Sunday, Nov. 28, the Squamish Youth Resource Centre is opening its doors to parents as well as youth between the ages of 11 and 14. The open house will take place from noon to 6 p.m. The idea is for parents and youth who are or will soon be eligible to attend the centre to learn more about it and its programming, says youth worker Allie Livesey.
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