New space inside Evergreen High helps youth stay on the right path
VANCOUVER, Wash. — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington is opening a new kind of classroom for students and young people in Clark County, creating a dedicated space aimed at connecting them with activities, resources and support.
Inside a portable classroom at Evergreen High School, young people will find activities ranging from ping pong to video games. But the space is designed to offer more than just a place to hang out.
“Our job as outreach people is to be the bridge between the kid and whatever resource they need,” said Izzy Queisser, Outreach Program Director.
The space is the first-of-its-kind for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Southwest Washington — a dedicated location for its outreach program inside Evergreen Public Schools. The idea was to create a place students could easily access after class.
“And so Evergreen High School was just so gracious to not only clear out this space and make it possible for us to be here, but they're so bought into what we're doing,” Queisser said.
The program is designed to help young people between the ages of 12 and 24 across Clark County stay away from gangs and violence while connecting them with activities, resources and support. Those activities extend beyond the classroom.
“We do community service projects. We do field trips. This summer was like basically a water-themed summer. So we did Great Wolf Lodge and we did kayaking and whitewater rafting,” Queisser said.
The program also gives young people a trusted person they can turn to for guidance and support.
“You never know what's going to stick, right? You never know what sentence or what lesson or what conversation, or activity is going to be the thing that changes somebody's mind,” Queisser said.
The hope is that reaching young people early can help steer them away from gangs and violence before they reach a critical point.
“The gang intervention and why I think intervention and prevention work is so important is because we're getting to those students before they get to that point,” Queisser said.
Link to Source: https://www.kgw.com/article/news/education/new-space-evergreen-high-school-helps-support-youth/283-e4363953-6172-49b9-99c7-29b312863bbb