It’s a time of transition for the Nelson and District Youth Centre.
Amidst a tumultuous year that’s seen nearly 100 per cent of their staff move on to other jobs, the city is investing in new youth centre employees and aspiring to introduce new programming and partnerships to the downtown institution.
And if residents want to have a say in its future, the city hopes they will attend the upcoming Oct. 1 food truck and flea market festival, where they will share some of the plans they have for Nelson youth.
Their latest plans include a new partnership with the Nelson Tech Club, rebuilding the bathrooms and renting out space to the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (CBAL). They are also embarking on a project to have a temporary mural mounted outside in collaboration with local artists.
According to the city’s chief financial officer Colin McClure, they want to introduce more after-school care, as well as day camps and special programs — and ideally, they’d be finding ways to work alongside School District 8.
“A lot of what’s happening in the school district now, with the new curriculum, demonstrates the need for new Maker Space spots. Every teacher would love to have their own in each school, but if we already have the cutting-edge tools here perhaps we could be a one-stop shop for SD8,” he said.
McClure said he’s already discussed this with the Kootenay Lake School Board, and plans to explore it again now they’ve hired new Superintendent Christine Perkins.
“Right now that space is only really being used from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., so we’re looking at finding partnerships so that we have the ability to use that space during the day.”
That involves finding volunteers, a process they’re hoping to formalize. Rather than having people approach them with ideas for new programs to offer kids, they would like to solicit support that will bolster their already existing ideas.
“We’re trying to ask ‘what do the youth need?’ and ‘what does the community need?’” said McClure.
“We want it to be more of a partnership so the youth centre can have oversight over what’s going on.”
Going into this year, new youth centre co-ordinator Alanna Carmichael plans to build on the programming done by Sarah Winton over the last eight months.
She’s keen to connect with SD8 and other community groups that could help them reach the youth of the community.
These partnerships will come with all kinds of benefits for the kids involved, according to Winton. She’s particularly excited about the inter-generational opportunities that could arise from having seniors from CBAL spill out of their rented space into the communal space, perhaps offering new programs like Mother Goose, a reading program for infants and toddlers.
“We’ve been wracking our brains trying to figure out how to connect seniors with youth, and this came out with perfect timing. In meetings with (CBAL director) Joan Exley we’ve figured out we’re on the same page,” she said.
“We’re thinking they can use our quiet spaces during the day, they can definitely get into the kitchen, and become a part of what we offer here.”
Winton is very happy that the bathrooms will be replaced in time for Oct. 1.
“The bathrooms, what we heard from the youth that don’t use the centre, is that it was a big barrier for them. The bathrooms were very run down and hadn’t seen any love for a long, long time,” she said.
“It was in the budget to have them renovated, so we just moved it forward and got it going. We’re really excited. I know it sounds silly and small, but we do really want youth to feel comfortable when they’re in this building.”
During the Oct. 1 event, the city is inviting residents to share their feedback and thoughts with Carmichael and the rest of their staff. They will soon be launching a new website as well.