(St. Louis Public Radio) – Four years after protests rocked Ferguson, a nonprofit is expanding youth services in the area.
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis will break ground on a new teen center in Ferguson on Thursday, Sept. 13 at 10:30 a.m. . The $12.4-million facility will be located at 9200 West Florissant Avenue, less than half a mile from the spot where Michael Brown was shot and killed.
Flint Fowler, president of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, said he hopes the Teen Center of Excellence will become a community hub in Ferguson.
“We want to make an investment in a part of the community that has had such a negative image portrayed,” Fowler said. “Because it’s more than optics. We really want to make a difference in the lives of kids and ultimately, in how the neighborhood functions.”
The three-story center will offer a range of services for teens, including a nutrition education center, outdoor garden, gym, lounge and art studio.
The point, said Fowler, is not simply to get teenagers off the streets, but also to offer resources they want and need.
To help prepare young people for the workforce, staff will connect them with career opportunities, such as summer jobs and internships. The facility will also have a trained social worker on site to counsel teens about stress, trauma and resolve conflict.
As part of the planning process, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis gathered information from teenagers and dozens of “thought leaders” from the Ferguson area. These included members of local law enforcement, small business owners and educators.
“This was not just an idea birthed in one brain,” Fowler said. “We really wanted to have input from a variety of sources.”
The nearly 27,000-square-foot facility is funded through a mix of private donations and corporate sponsorships.
The Missouri Development Finance Board also awarded $2.5 million in state tax credits for the project last year.
The center is expected to open in fall 2019.
Republished with permission of St. Louis Public Radio: http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/boys-girls-clubs-break-ground-ferguson-teen-center
