The Youth Community Centre's (YCC) board of directors is committed to the organization's mission and will pursue all avenues to keep it afloat after a large chunk of its annual funding was yanked last week.
In a news release distributed Thursday night, the board said it is looking at different aspects of its operations, from programming to facilities and staff to partnerships with other organizations. It will try to develop a new business model based on its work and will make a final decision on the YCC's future by June 30.
"We set a line in the sand that by June 30 we will be required to make some decisions," board chair and former executive director Doug Campbell said. When it was pointed out that wasn't much time, Campbell replied, "Well, we weren't given much time."
On May 28 city council approved a still-confidential report from the community services advisory board (CSAB) recommending it fund the YCC through the rest of 2012 but then divert those funds in the future to other groups. The YCC has been funded through the Family and Community Support Services for 15 years.
The Gazette has asked for that report to be made public. Council is to vote on a motion to make the report public on June 18.
Campbell said he only learned of the CSAB recommendation three days before the May 28 meeting.
Now the YCC board will be pursuing different possibilities so it can continue to serve the approximately 800 youths who walk through its doors each year.
"Given that we all believed in the mandate and the mission, we basically committed ourselves as a group to do the work required to see if we can continue operating the centre and deliver its drop-in services," Campbell said.
The board will now break into groups to establish a new business model. One will look at facility and staffing needs.
"There's no question that for us to move along we will probably have to have a smaller footprint and probably some reduced staffing," Campbell said. That could also mean giving up some or all of its current Grandin Park Plaza space.
A second group will explore partnerships with other community groups while a third will look at funding strategies.
"We will meet and take a look and blend all three together," Campbell said.
While the report isn't public, Campbell believes the CSAB and city staff have come to see some of the YCC's programs such as its youth drop-in centre classified as more recreation than preventative in nature. The FCSS funding for youth is meant to fund agencies that offer preventative programming and build the 40 assets in youth.
Campbell thinks that once the new business model is adopted, the YCC will be able to apply for FCSS funding again.
"We have a number of new programs that we have started to work on that all focus on prevention and on some form of pre-registration," Campbell said. "And eventually these programs will be offered at the drop-in centre and maybe other places in the community.
Mayor Nolan Crouse said he hopes the board can find a way to continue operating the YCC.
"If we can find a way to work together on new programs then we should be doing that," Crouse said.
Mayor's Breakfast
The YCC will require community support through its eighth annual Mayor's Breakfast if it is going to continue operating, Campbell said.
While tickets are still available for the June 14 breakfast at St. Albert Alliance Church Hall, Campbell said people stopped buying them once they heard of the funding decision.
The breakfast, combined with pledges from the Mayor's Walk, is a major fundraiser for the YCC.
The guest speaker this year is NHL alumnus, hockey analyst and St. Albert resident Rob Brown. Tickets are $60 and can be purchased at the YCC. Call 780-418-0678.
