by Rhiannon Tully-Barr I'd like to take a moment to tell you about Powell River Youth Resource Centre (YRC). This centre has become such an important part of the community for me and countless other teens. It is a refuge for those of us who have a difficult time at home, and it provides a safe haven.
The meal program is excellent. It provides many with good, healthy food, and it teaches us how to cook for ourselves. The workers are the most hard-working and caring individuals I have ever met. They are true friends to everyone who has stopped by the centre, and they are always there to offer help when difficult situations arise.
The YRC goes far beyond just supporting youth. It has a slew of games, events, movie nights, arts and crafts, sports nights, you name it. It is the social venue that our town desperately needs. Our town is a small one, and there isn't much for us to do besides homework and drugs. The YRC keeps it clean and for many, it is a welcome alternative to walking around the mall, bored out of our minds, learning nothing. For parents, the centre is preferable to being found in a back alley or a parking lot. It keeps us out of trouble in a very real way. It provides so much more for us than anywhere else does, or, I believe, ever could. That's because the YRC was built by us, for us.
The YRC is a very new experiment. It has been up and running for less that two years, and I remember when it was nothing more than an impossible dream. A small, dedicated group of youth and adult workers pulled together and built this thing from nothing. We started with nothing, and through hundreds of hours spent applying for grants, fundraising constantly, and sheer grit, we made it happen. The YRC is our space through and through. We painted the walls and scraped the gunk off the tiles on the floor. It is our creation, and the next generation of kids may never get to experience it, because it is in trouble.
Since we started with nothing at all, it has always been a struggle to keep the YRC running. Even now, it can't be open as often as we would like, because we can't keep enough adult supervision on the payroll. Recently, in a terrific blow, a government grant that we had been hanging our hopes on was turned down. If we don't do something quickly, the YRC may only have a few weeks left.
Our situation seems bleak. At a recent meeting about these matters, some of the most dedicated kids were in tears. I will not give up on them. I am near the end of my “youth.” Soon I will be too old for the YRC, technically speaking. This does not blind me to its value, and I refuse to give up on the younger kids who need this place.
Rhiannon Tully-Barr recently graduated from Brooks Secondary School and is taking night classes at Vancouver Island University while working part time. She became involved with the YRC by attending Youth Advisory Council meetings, which allowed her to become more involved with her community through volunteering.
