I started to read the Gazette’s Jan. 14 issue at breakfast this morning and almost gagged as I read the front page article on the "One-stop shop approach" presented by Mr. Rodda, as being the answer to the need for help for the youth in our community. I had already started drafting in my mind what I was going to put in this letter (my first ever letter to an editor) when I reached the editorial page of the paper and read your editorial on "Youth drop-in space needed." Good on you!! You said almost exactly what I had in my mind at that time.
I should state that I was involved with the St. Albert Youth Community Centre for many years, several as a board member, so I must admit that I am somewhat biased. It's time that city council and Mr. Rodda got their heads out of the sand and realize that we do have "at-risk" youth in our community – youth that are not going to join in with the BAM group or other well-meaning youth organizations, because that is not who they are! Don't get me wrong, BAM is a great organization and does a lot of good things but it does not serve the needs of a segment of our youth community that is probably the most in need of a facility to call home. Mr. Rodda states that he is hesitant to refer to any youth in the community as being at risk. Well, let's be realistic. There are at-risk kids in St. Albert, as evidenced by cases encountered at the youth centre – kids who were cutting themselves to get attention; kids who were contemplating suicide; kids who were scared to go home to abusive parents, or who didn't have a home to go to; kids who were being tempted by drugs and alcohol; kids who just needed a place to hang out. These are the youth who need the most help, and they are not going to get it at a service centre handing out brochures.
It is interesting that Mr. Rodda states that this would not be a "drop-in centre" and that most youth consulted didn't want a replacement for the youth centre. That is probably because most youth don't need that kind of facility but they are not the ones we should be concerned about. How many of the clients from the old youth centre were consulted? The only two youth quoted in the article were both members of the BAM group. That is like saying that most people in St. Albert don't do drugs, so we don't really have a drug problem. At the youth centre, we were told that FCSS could no longer fund the youth centre because our programs were not preventative in nature and therefore did not qualify for provincial grant funding. (I would have thought preventing someone from suicide would be preventative in nature). If this is the case, I suggest that city council consider putting this very important need under the umbrella of some other department and find the necessary funding.
If it has not already done so, and I would hope it has, I would suggest city council review the report that was prepared at its request back in the ’90s, which came to the conclusion that a drop-in centre was required for St. Albert. I can't think that the need today would be any less than it was 20 years ago.
Bruce Childs, St. Albert
