A place that is youth friendly, welcoming and is low-barrier.
Their ask seems simple, but it has taken a long time for the Youth Engagement Strategy (YES) Project to get to the design phase on the building at 501 Main St. which will become a youth resource centre.
Related: YES Project finds Penticton youth centre a home
“When we talked about what the youth centre would look like we (the youth) had amazing ideas of what the layout would be and what would be inside of it. After seeing the photos of the centre I was taken by surprise, the way the youth centre is going to look like is beyond my wildest dreams,” said Hussain Sattar, Grade 11 Princess Margaret student, YES youth advisor and member of the YES steering committee. “We as youth have worked so hard to make this centre a place of safety, comfort and joy, and after seeing what it might look like really brings a feeling of happiness and relief. I know I and many others cannot wait to see the centre start to thrive and become a place for youth in Penticton.”
Over the past few months OneSky Community Resources and Evolve Design | Build have been in consultation with the youth, service providers and community members on the layout and design of Foundry Penticton. OneSky is the lead organization for Foundry Penticton, which will be located on the main floor of the youth resource centre.
Related: Penticton youth centre gains key resource
Foundry Penticton will bring health and social services together in a single place to make it easier for young people to find the care, connection and supports they need. The five core services Foundry will offer are: primary care (physicians); mental health supports; substance use resources; youth and family peer supports and navigation; and social services.
The floor plan includes six counselling/talking room, a learning kitchen, large meeting room/activity space, two medical exam rooms, computer stations and staff offices. Tanya Behardien, executive director of OneSky Community Resources, said the floor plan will be shared with the general public once it is updated with suggestions and input from youth and community partners.
There will be over 20 youth serving organizations offering their services out of Foundry Penticton. A fundraising campaign to renovate the main floor of the Youth Centre Building and open Foundry Penticton is well underway. Foundry Penticton will be open in the new year.
“We have currently raised over $500,000 of our second phase goal of $1.2 million for the youth resource centre fundraising campaign,” said Aaron McRann, executive director of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan – Similkameen.
Related: YES Project moves into second phase of fundraising
The first phase of the fundraising campaign raised $1 million and secured the youth centre building located at 501 Main St. and renovated the second floor.
“While we have raised almost half of our second phase fundraising goal we still have a ways to go. We have been extremely fortunate for the donations we have received so far and continue to receive. In addition to every donation receiving a tax receipt, there are also opportunities for naming rights within the youth centre,” said McRann.
Those interested in making a donation or for more information please contact the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan – Similkameen at 250-493-9311 or email info@cfso.net.
To report a typo, email: editor@pentictonwesternnews.com.
<p<
@PentictonNews newstips@pentictonwesternnews.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
