With a third of the population over 65, Penticton, B.C., is generally considered an Okanagan retirement town, and youth services are lacking.
That’s why fundraising efforts are underway to open the Foundry Penticton Youth Resource Centre at 501 Main St.
“Because we’re thought of as a retirement community, there is a problem with the amount of activities and services available for young people,” said Aaron McRann, the executive director of the Community Foundation of the South Okanagan Similkameen.
“Youth have really been left to the side in that regard.”
McRann says more than $1 million has been raised for phase two of the fundraising campaign, which has a total goal of $1.2 million.
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The building will be a “one-stop-shop” of co-ordinated youth services, resources and activities available to youth aged 12 to 24 years old.
“Our vital signs report showed that there was a very serious problem with youth mental health in our community and we wanted to make a dramatic difference,” McRann said.
“Thirty-eight per cent of young people in our community self-identify as having anxiety and depression — that is quite a bit higher than the provincial average.”
The youth centre will be operated by OneSky Community Resources.
Executive director Tanya Behardien said Foundry is a provincial initiative involving more than 100 partnerships across B.C.
“Foundry is an initiative that came out of Vancouver and the psychiatrist who was really interested in transforming access to service for young people,” she said.
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There are seven Foundry youth centres currently operating in B.C., including one in Kelowna.
“My vision for the future of this space is that young people are attracted to here and that it’s really welcoming, warm and inviting,” Behardien said on Wednesday.
Victoria Ritchie is a former youth adviser and was instrumental to the creation of the youth centre. She said youth often slip through the cracks.
“We’ve been known to have really high suicide rates, especially among young people — this is because of mental-health issues, because of drug- and substance-abuse issues, and it’s also because of family issues,” she said.
“What youth in general have been facing is a need for a de-stigmatized area where they can go and discuss these issues.”
The youth centre is slated to open this spring.
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