April 26, 2007

Kenny Messenger takes a turn at pinball, while (L-R) Jacob Roe, Aaron Messenger and Aaron Koogler look on during a recent afternoon at the Bryan youth center.

By Virgil Hervey

Where can a kid go in Yellow Springs to play indoor basketball or volley ball, or shoot pool, or play air hockey, or learn judo? Where can kids go on a Saturday afternoon or after school to play cards or make crafts? Some villagers might be surprised to find that the answer is the youth center at the Bryan Center. Some might even be surprised to learn that there is a youth center in town.

Despite a youth center-sponsored annual trip to Kings Island that has been taking place almost 20 years, a coed volleyball league, fifth and sixth grade dances, seventh and eighth grade overnight “lock-ins,” and other activities as well, villagers’ awareness of the center seems to be dwindling, according to Christina (Tina) Fox in a recent interview.

Run by Fox under the auspices of the Yellow Springs Department of Parks and Recreation, the youth center, consisting of a game room and the Bryan Center gym, is open to the youth of the village, ages 11–18, on weekdays from 5–9 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon until 4 p.m.

Younger children are also welcome with parental supervision. Kids sometimes share the gym with adult activities, but even the adult basketball, volleyball, and judo participants welcome the kids, said Kingsley Perry, who, along with Fox and Samantha Stewart, is a part-time youth center supervisor.

One reason for the center’s low profile seems to be lack of participation by older teenagers, according to Perry, who said in a recent interview that older kids used to come to play basketball, but that lately they seem to avoid even minimal supervision. Sports and other school activities also keep the kids busy elsewhere, he said.

And part of the problem these days is lack of funding, Perry said.

The Village pays the center’s part-time staff. Beyond that, the center has a budget of only $4,000 per year for supplies, $2,500 of which comes from an annual grant from the Yellow Springs Community Council, Fox said. The money is not enough to replace equipment or buy new things. The limited hours are a result of cutbacks in Village spending over the last couple years, she said, but she and the other staffers try to open early and close late, especially in the summer.

On a recent Saturday afternoon, 12-year-olds Jacob Roe, Aaron Koogler, Aaron Messenger, and Messenger’s 8-year-old brother, Kenny, played in the game room, while their fathers and older brothers played basketball in the gym. They said they come to the center regularly on Saturday afternoons. When asked what games they liked best, they agreed that the pool table and air hockey are their favorites. They said they would also like to have a television to watch while resting between games, and maybe a chess board.

“People lose sight of the fact that there is a valid reason why this service is provided,” Village Manager Eric Swansen said in a recent interview.

Research on child development shows that children benefit greatly from contact with caring adults in a supervised setting, he said. Unfortunately, the center has suffered during a time of financial difficulties.

“The center used to be more,” Swansen said. “I don’t think people realize that. It used to have a full-time person.”

Short of an increase in funding, the center could use volunteers. That way it could be open more hours, especially during school vacations when it could provide the kids with something to do every day, he said.

“The question is, ‘Is this important to the community?’ If the answer is yes,” Swansen said, “we should find a way to make it work.”

Recently the game room got a new coat of paint, and the kids got to pick the color, Fox said. However, some older equipment needs to be replaced, including the ping pong table that was in such bad shape it had to be discarded. New toys, games, balls, pads for the gym walls, a new refrigerator and freezer, and a sewing machine and materials to make new curtains for the game room are all on Fox’s wish list. She would also like to be able to provide dance instruction for a talent show and to teach the kids how to make movies. She estimates that spending about $60,000 would get the center back where it should be.

The aging refrigerator and freezer are used to store snacks for the kids and food items such as hotdogs for dances and other events. The kids are allowed to get themselves a snack whenever they feel like it, Fox said, since she believes that it is important for the kids to feel like the place is theirs. Last month staff members counted 183 kids who dropped in, and parents routinely call down to the center to check on them, she said.

The annual community trip to Kings Island has always been paid for by the individuals who go, but not everyone can afford it, Fox said. She would also like to find a way to fund the trip for the kids who can’t pay.

While Swansen sees providing youth activities as a responsibility of the village, he views it as one that is shared with the schools and the parents. As for a way to bring back the older teens, “We could orient activities to older kids with resources,” he said.

Fox, who herself came to the youth center when she was a teenager in the 80s, said she wants the community to understand what great kids use the center. They are talented, funny, smart, and respectful, she said, and if you give them positive attention, you get their respect. She took the job to fill in for six weeks six years ago and never left.

“This is the perfect job for me,” she said. “I like being around kids. I really love them.”

Contact: vhervey@ysnews.com