Kootenay Insights :: Tanya Laing Gahr A focus on Kootenay Communities…
Sparking hope in Kimberley’s youth
Bev Middlebrook teaches at-risk teens valuable employment skills through an on-site used bookstore near Kimberley’s platzl. —Photo by Tanya Laing Gahr
Bev Middlebrook is passionate about the kids who drop in every week at B.C.’s longest lasting youth centre. The Life Entrepreneurial and Employment Skills (LEES) Youth Learning Centre and Spark Drop-In Centre, just off the platzl in Kimberley, have been in operation for over 15 years, providing marginalized teens with a place to go. The centre was originally known as the Lee Haskell Youth Centre, named after a young man from Kimberley who was killed in the early ’90s and who is still honoured today with the new name and focus of the building. Middlebrook admits that the youth centre hasn’t always enjoyed a positive reputation in Kimberley—troubled teens can cause mischief—but she is endeavouring to help improve that image while providing employment opportunities for the kids and giving them reasons to feel like a part of the greater community. h3. New projects “What we’re creating in the front half (of the building) is a used CDs, music and bookstore,” said Middlebrook. “And why that will work is location, location, location.” The youth centre and bookstore will be operated in conjunction with each other, with some of the teens-at-risk who frequent the centre learning valuable work skills. The store fills a vacancy in Kimberley; Middlebrook reported that people are already stopping by to ask when it will be open. Books and shelves have been donated and Middlebrook says that computer and Internet access will also be a part of the services offered. “The other cool thing is that when you are a non-profit organization, the word is sustainability,” said Middlebrook, who hopes the income generated from sales can help fund the centre, easing the dependence on outside funding. h3. Employment opportunities Part of the initiatives that Middlebrook is working on bringing to the centre involves employment programs that will teach teens the skills necessary for various types of employment. The goal is to support them in the transition to work while fostering relationships with businesses and business leaders acting as mentors. Middlebrook has been working to give the centre a face lift—fresh paint and furniture and a cheerful mural on the exterior—as well as a profile lift. The city council has approved a recommendation from Middlebrook to have a LEES/Spark week in December. “It will be called ‘The Centre of Opportunity gives back to the community,’ ” said Middlebrook. “We want the youth to become part of the community.”
Senior writer Tanya Laing Gahr has been writing for Kootenay Business magazine since 2006, and through the hundreds of stories she has written for the magazine and website, she has gained a deeper understanding of the unique and diverse nature of businesses in the region.
More than that, however, she has gained a sense of how the individual communities drive the businesses, helping chart the direction they go. Each district, town and city has a particular outlook and personality, and each take on challenges that continue to define who they are in the region and in the world.
Join Tanya as she explores the initiatives, movements, projects and developments that help shape Kootenay communities, the businesses in the region and the people who live here.
Email Tanya if you have a business story idea.
