Gone are the days of arcades as the reigning teen hangout hot spots.
Yet, in spite of the flashing lights of this digital age, teens still crave a place where they can gather and be themselves.
Enter youth drop-in locale, The Garage, located in the building next to All Saints Anglican Church, 404 4th Ave. N.
Open every Friday from 6-10:30 p.m., director John Gooch is encouraging teens of all walks to stop by the little non-profit shack whose goal is to provide a safe place for youth between the ages of 12-19. These days, Gooch is seeing anywhere from 25-40 youth each week.
Fifteen-year-old Alix Thom, a St. Tim’s student, is one of the regulars.
“It’s the best place ever and it’s cool because Cochrane doesn’t have anywhere else like this for teens.”
Half the facility is set up for gaming, table tennis, pool and other activities and the other half is a garage converted into an indoor skate ramp, complemented by black walls covered in tasteful graffiti and art.
“We paint over it every couple of months and let the kids make it their own,” said Gooch, who has been the director of youth and outreach at All Saints Anglican for the past 15 months, and who oversees the functions of The Garage.
He explained that although the facility has had its doors open to youth for the last three years, a great deal of changes have been made over the last year at The Garage.
Some of these changes include plans for upcoming community initiatives and fundraisers, mentoring, culinary and snow removal programs; later this fall, Gooch said the kids at The Garage hope to put on a live nativity display, complete with a skating rink and a bake sale.
Proceeds from this will go toward the group’s upcoming spring trip to Northern England, where Gooch and parent volunteers will be taking a group of some 10 kids to poverty-stricken areas between Manchester and Bristol to work on community improvement projects that will help kids in those regions.
“The parents have really hopped on board for this one,” said Gooch, adding that The Garage has sponsored a movie screening of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at the Cochrane Movie House from 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Dec. 15 to help fund the trip.
“Any youth are welcome to come up here. . . we even offer counselling services for any kids who need that,” said Gooch.
Gooch added that each Friday includes about 10 minutes of bible teachings incorporated into the agenda, based on the request from kids to learn more about this.
Cochrane Family and Community Support Services (FCSS) have been very supportive of the non-profit group.
“When we did our youth needs assessment we learned that many youth enjoy attending The Garage program and do feel safe there,” said Cochrane FCSS manager Susan Flowers.
“I hope they continue to provide mentorship, life skills and a safe place for youth to socialize and get information and referrals if they need help.”
Information on The Garage can be obtained by calling All Saints Anglican Church at 403-932-6556.
