A safe space for Powell River’s youth has found a new home, but program funding is in question and centre organizers wonder if the program will look the same after the move.
The Youth Resource Centre (YRC), currently located on Joyce Avenue, has been offering a safe place for teenagers to go after school for the past year. It was started by Powell River Child, Youth and Family Services Society (PRCYFSS) with a one-year funding grant from Ottawa. The grant money ran out at the end of December, and although the society applied for gaming funding, it hasn’t heard whether it will be received.
“It’s a fantastic program,” said Heather Gordon, executive director of PRCYFSS, “but it’s expensive to run. We’re trying to make sure young people are staying safe.”
The program has an annual operating cost of approximately $100,000, and a lot of that money goes to pay rent and salaries. The move to Oceanview Leaning Centre will reduce costs, but Gordon said that if the society isn’t approved for gaming funding then it won’t be able to run the centre the same way.
“We’ll have to pull the funding together from a few sources,” said Doreen Berrington, treasurer on the society’s board. Gaming funding will cover only about 60 per cent of its operating costs. If it can secure gaming funding then it will pursue other fundraising avenues.
In the past, volunteer-run youth centres in Powell River have been tried, but without success. Training requirements for volunteers to meet the society’s accreditation standards, which include criminal record and reference checks, previous experience working with youth and certification make relying on volunteers to run the centre unfeasible.
YRC offers youth a safe place, free of bullying and harassment, in which to learn new skills, socialize and engage in the community. The centre has regular planning meetings where participants talk about what kinds of activities they’re interested in participating in.
“We don’t struggle with engagement,” said Tracy Tunstall YRC program coordinator. “This could be a model for other communities’ youth centres.”
Teens who regularly use the centre are concerned for its future.
‘I’m here more than I’m at home,” said Brynne Wingham, 15. “I come here four days a week.”
“It’s like a home away from home,” said Nick Rekve, 14.
