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SATURDAY January 24, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels January 9, 2004 Options for Grove may include shelter By Bill Choy Ashland Daily Tidings It's imperative The Grove should continue to serve the teenagers of Ashland. That was the consensus of a Thursday evening ad-hoc committee meeting to decide the future of the former teen center. The committee, made up of city staff, community youth leaders, interested citizens, and teenagers, met at the Community Development Building for the first of four potential meetings. The group agreed a new teen center needed to focus on ways to attract and maintain the interest of teens and provide a place for social services. A topic of interest was the possibility of having the building being used as a shelter for homeless teens in some capacity. Most agreed while there was a great need for these services, more research needed to be done to see if this could become a reality. Since closing in July due to budget cuts and flagging enrollment, the teen center, previously operated by Community Works, has sat nearly vacant, used only on a limited basis as a recording studio. The City of Ashland, which owns the property, has been deciding how the building could best serve the community. The Grove is located on East Main Street. The committee plans to submit a recommendation to city staff, who will present the recommendation to the city council in February. As the roundtable discussion progressed, the group felt a new teen center should try to meet the needs of all teens in Ashland regardless of economic background. Suggestions that were volleyed around included offering dances, a battle of the bands event, teen art shows, a snack bar with items teens like such as pizza, and other opportunities for teens to have fun and express themselves. The majority of those who spoke felt teens should have a great deal of say in how the center is to be operated, perhaps being run by teens with adult supervision. "I want it to be a place that teens can enjoy," said mayor Alan DeBoer, who helped facilitate the discussion. Sam Groveman, 15, an Ashland High school student and the son of Steve Groveman, the late founder of The Grove, said a new teen center needs to have activities to attract teens. He said many teens felt the former center was geared towards middle school and younger students. As an example, Groveman recalled The Grove holding annual Easter egg hunts, which he said was not something his age group was that interested in. The committee agreed there needed to be more activities and events for teens at a new center while still meeting the needs of middle school students. Angelina May, 16, has been a homeless teen for much of the past three years and has mostly been sleeping outdoors the last month. May, part of the committee, stressed the need to consider using The Grove as a shelter in some capacity. It could just be a place to do laundry, eat, or grab personal items, she said. "I think there's a lot we can do," she said after the meeting. "There's a lot that needs to be done. It's life or death sleeping outside. I sleep outside and it's freezing now. It's not great." May was pleased a homeless teen like herself was able to have her voice heard. The group concurred a shelter was something that was a need in the community. But members cautioned the challenges, responsibility and the need for qualified staff to accomplish this. Some committee members suggested going slowly, perhaps offering a few services like the use of a laundry machine and seeing how successful it becomes before moving towards overnight accommodations. Groveman concurred those sentiments. "I think if we go too fast, we'll lose everything," he said after the meeting. "But if we build it up, we'll have something for the entire community to be proud of." DeBoer said it was vital to hear from teens like Groveman and May on decisions so prevalent to them and their peers. He said what adults may think is important might be opposite of what teens may think. Since it will be for them, they need their voice to be heard, he said. "It's the teens that need to believe," he said. The next meeting, scheduled for next Thursday at The Grove, will focus on groups and organizations who have shown interest in running the teen center. The council agreed in December to look into buying the 25 percent investment the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has in The Grove. This is being considered to remove HUD requirements that the HUD funds be used for low-income to moderate-income programs and services. The council agreed this could limit activities and those who would be served by the center. The city is looking to use funds from the sale of city property on Strawberry Lane to buy out the HUD investment in the property. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams