San Angeloans Seek Support for New Teen Center

 

“When I was growing up—I’m old school—the ‘Y’ was a different place, and right across from the Y(MCA) we had a go-kart track,” San Angelo native David DeLoney recalled. “The Y…had dances for us…we’d come downtown and go to the Texas Theatre…then go go-kart riding, then go to the Y.

“None of that is here for the kids anymore.”

Children’s Art Thursdays at the museum, archeological digs, art walks and live music downtown are regular occurrences in San Angelo that draw crowds spanning the local age spectrum, however between the toddlers and the city’s senior population, a divide of limited options has emerged for area teens.

For the past few years, DeLoney and his right hand, Erica Galindo have dreamed of filling that gap, both having worked with troubled teens at the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Council of the Concho Valley (ADACCV). In July, the two decided to get the ball rolling on a new teen center dubbed “Step Up”, which they hope will provide both educational and entertaining options for teens and tweens aged 12-18.

“I’ve been working with kids for 14 years,” Assistant Executive Director Erica Galindo explained. “Just seeing little Daniel Perez, you know, he passed away and drowned all because of drug abuse and we’re thinking maybe if we put something there for them to learn skills and maybe want to be motivated to go do something better with themselves, then maybe this wouldn’t happen anymore.”

The idea centers on a slew of educational programs and life skills classes, in which teens will learn culinary skills, attend substance abuse classes, receive art and music instruction, and partake in sports for recreation at a cost of $10 per month.

Local chefs, musicians and counselors have already voiced interest in volunteering their time to assist with the programs, and a current crew of eight has been meeting daily to organize and strategize for the eventual opening.

“This is educational programs,” DeLoney said. “It’s not a school, but it’s educational programs and that’s why we call it a ‘Step Up’, because as they come in and they learn one skill, they’ll be able to have a little graduation and graduate to another different level. By the time they reach 18, if they’re not going off to college, they’re going to know how to make resumes, they’re going to know how to present themselves to people, and they can be mentors to other young people. We’ll try to teach them basic living skills because they need this here.”

While DeLoney and Galindo only started working on the project in July, they have already located a building downtown they’d like to purchase for the center and are in the process of raising funds to make that dream come true.

Currently, the old Harry’s Grocery Store at 135 W. Twohig is uninhabited, and was donated to the city of San Angelo by a previous owner. The city is asking $300,000 for the purchase of the space, and once the Step Up team is able to finance the purchase, they’ll have to completely overhaul the gutted interior to make the space usable.

“We’ve talked to different people that works in those fields (construction) that have said, ‘whenever you get the building, let us know’…they want things for the kids,” DeLoney said. 

The plan includes refurbishing the current wood flooring and rewiring the electricity, as well as building a basketball court and recreational gym, a full kitchen, music studio and computer room.

Many of the items will be donated for the spaces, and a local attorney has volunteered to assist the directors with the legal aspects. Joe’s Brewhouse and Longoria Paint and Body have stepped up as sponsors, and the center’s first fundraiser is scheduled for the weekend.

DeLoney will serve as Executive Director for the new center, and is experienced with the operation. In 1987 he founded the Lubbock Teen Center, which remained open for several years even after left to return to San Angelo. Once they acquire the building, DeLoney and Galindo plan to make use of the contacts they made while at ADACCV and push to market at local schools and through area organizations.

When they open, they hope to have 60+ teens enrolled at a given time and will be seeking volunteers to help get the project off the ground. Eventually, they hope to create a few permanent positions for counselors and program leaders.

“We need support. We need volunteers. We need people that are sincere, that are going to come out and are sincere about helping the youth in San Angelo,” DeLoney said.

During the school year, the planned teen center will be open from 3-9 p.m. Monday through Friday, and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The summer months will have extended hours of 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

On Saturday, the Step Up team will be holding a brisket and chicken fundraiser at Joe’s Brewhouse at 113 E. Concho Ave at 11 a.m., till the food runs out. Plates are $10 apiece, and will include one meat selection, rice, beans, potato salad and bread.

For more information on the Step Up teen center, contact David DeLoney at 325-300-2410 or Erica Galindo at 325-212-8769. Alternatively, the directors may be reached via email at [email protected] or on their Facebook page

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If the city owns the building (which it inherited as a donation) then why can't they allow the building to be used as a teen center? It sounds like a wonderful idea, but rather prohibitive to both purchase and renovate it.
The building was donated so why not just sell it at a very low price or better yet..........do something nice and donate it for the good cause!!!
There has never been enough to do in San Angelo for young people. We knew it in the 1970's. Rural kids have plenty to do. City kids, not so much. So they gather and they drink, party, and/or get high. And it has nothing to do with their socio-economic status or whether they're from north side or Santa Rita or Bentwood. And it doesn't matter how they're raised. If they have 2 parents, they're both working. If we don't give them venues to waste their spare time, they're going to fill it. Now part of it's not our fault. It's hard to occupy them with miniature golf or foosball tables or pinball machines. Times have changed. I never thought about the old Harry's, but we have a lot of empty building space that could be converted to multi-purpose facilities for teens. Get creative. Get ideas from larger communities. Indoor paintball. Golf practice facilities. A huge arcade. Put an Internet Cafe in there, with food & beverages. Choose the right location and you could back it up to a disc golf course. A place just for them. Now on to the current project. "Currently, the old Harry’s Grocery Store at 135 W. Twohig is uninhabited, and was donated to the city of San Angelo by a previous owner. (Christians In Action) The city is asking $300,000 for the purchase of the space." Excuse me? That was the asking price when C.I.A. had it on the market. Remember that space was supposed to be a new restaurant not long ago. Why in the hell is the city going to profit from something that was donated if it's for such a good cause? With all the improvements planned, they could lease it to "Step Up" for $1 per year and still come out ahead in the end. Think about how much good they could do with $300k if the space was donated. This sounds like a great idea for at-risk kids or teens already on the verge of trouble. It also gives disadvantaged teens some instruction in real-life areas they might not acquire at home or school. Engaging 60 San Angelo kids at a time is a start, and the planned activities and curriculum sound great, not only for occupying their time more constructively but in preparing them for the future. But if we're serious about changing decades of teen culture in SA a lot more can be done.
JS_979, Fri, 09/19/2014 - 15:09
Actually, the building was donated to Downtown San Angelo, Inc, not to the City of San Angelo. Therefore, they are the ones asking for money. This took about five minutes on Google to verify. Maybe I should become a journalist. http://www.downtownsanangelo.com/assets/newletters/NewsletterFeb2014.pdf
I wish them well. I really do. But I have seen lots of communities try something like this and none have lasted very long. Staffing is a prime issue. Who will pay for it? Who will do it? Will the staff be adequate to handle fights and other disturbances? Who will it appeal to? While the 13 year olds think it is cool to hang out with high schoolers, the older ones don't reciprocate. (I also would not be keen on my 14 year old daughter hanging out with high schoolers. Or rather--I would not have been, when either of my daughters was 14!) I have seen these things started to become gang hangouts. I am not really in tune with today's teenagers, but go-karts seem hopelessly out dated--unless equipped with a screen and driven by ones thumbs. It is a different time. On the other hand. I am always in favor of trying things rather than wringing my hands and complaining. As I say, I wish them success.
jdgt, Mon, 09/22/2014 - 08:18
I'm not business savvy... I don't know the ins and outs of obtaining a building or insurance or what have you in order to start something like this... I do have ideas though on what needs to be brought to the area. The Rink is a wonderful place... but it's outdated. It's the ONLY place in town, besides Mr. Gatti's where a child can have a decent birthday party. Well, and the bowling alley. Forget trying to rent the movie theater... after paying rent/mortgage and utilities, you can't afford that place! Why CAN'T we bring something like Neff's Amusement Park back? Obviously, San Angelo isn't large enough to support a full scale park like Six Flags... but it would be absolutely awesome for the bigger kids to be able to go to something like this. Younger children (and parents) need a wonderful, indoor place to take their kids. I applaud the effort of Kid's Kingdom downtown, but it's hot for 8 months out of the year... the other 4 months, it's too cold. There's a wonderful place in Luxembourg called YoYo's. It's 3-4 stories, with a giant floor to ceiling playground in the middle of the building. Nets and slides and tunnels that weave and connect and lead to ball pits, and a giant waterfall themed slide in the middle of this jungle. There are rooms for birthday parties... the top floor had a basketball court, foosball tables, air hockey tables, pool tables... a place for indoor soccer. The bottom floor was a small café for lunch, or so parents could sit and have coffee while their kids played the day away. They charged entry by day, or you could pay for a membership. Have we considered bringing a zoo to the area?? Why must one drive to Abilene? This city is growing and expanding at a rapid pace due to the oil boom. People are complaining that once the boom is over, there will be nothing left. Well, take advantage of all this money and BRING STUFF to the city that will keep it going once this boom is over. Your stupid water lily garden isn't going to fill these hotels that keep getting built. And I'm sorry, but the art museum is no Louvre. Do the gatekeepers of this city NOT get out? Do they not travel around to see what can be brought here to make this city worth living in? COME ON PEOPLE! Thing outside the box.
jdgt, Mon, 09/22/2014 - 08:22
All of these "ideas" that I'm throwing out... are wonderful employment opportunities for college kids as well. Lord knows with all the demand for people to pay tips... and the underpaid waitresses, etc... Who wouldn't wanna scoop elephant poop at a zoo... or babysit kids at an indoor playground to make sure they're not puking in the ball pit, or climbing on the outside of the playground jungle?! This town could be SO FUN! It could appeal to every demographic... if only someone would just try.
A new teen center sounds great, but it should be created with an aim to entertain and educate rather than becoming a haven for juvenile delinquents. Erica Galindo brought up the kid who got high and then drowned, West Texas Insomniac cited idle kids who turn to drinking and getting high -- if only these kids had the option to make a clay bowl or play table tennis though, right? People turn to drugs and crime because that's who they are, as a result of how they were raised. When I say "raised", I'm not necessarily referencing their parents. Peers, siblings and extended family members have just as much influence in a child's life. People who've resolved to waste away with drug addiction and the active pursuit of becoming an overall drain on society didn't do so because they were bored, there's an entire support system of ex-cons and life dropouts behind every one of the mug shots you see in the headlines. Do teen centers and mentoring programs do any good? Most definitely....they attract good kids who want to participate. Keep in mind however, no one's throwing away their meth pipe or quitting gangs over a new basketball court or a chance to learn how to compile resumes. Juvenile delinquency is rooted much deeper than the myopic presumption of wayward kids simply "not having enough to do". As a case in point: The Los Angeles area is overflowing with everything from sports clubs to amusement parks, mentoring programs (some ran by celebrities) and family/teen friendly activities. You can't go more than a block or two in L.A. without finding something to do or some (positive) way to spend your time. Los Angeles is also known as the "gang capital" of the nation, with over 450 gangs and nearly 50,000 members in the Los Angeles area alone. Drug use is rampant, and though overall crime and teen pregnancy is down, the numbers are still pretty substantial -- especially for a city with so much to do! Joe Weaver brought up some good points and questions: What kind of staff will be running this place, what qualifications do they have to work with children and who pays them? If I were a parent considering sending my child to ANY teen center or after school-type program, I'd want to know exactly who is running the facility. Are the mentors and counselors educated people of sound mind, or are we trusting our children to the care of dangerous career criminals and addicts like the famed "Outcry In The Barrio" characters? Will this place be a wholesome/safe environment for decent, motivated young people or just another repository for our resident parental failures to dump little Jailbird Jr. for a few hours Again, this venture sounds like they have the right idea, but hopefully it's carried out with some sense of reality and feasibility. I've seen places like this come and go, due to the centers trying to be the band aids on the gaping wounds of bad parenting and juvenile delinquency. There are places we keep those who make trouble within the community, and then there are places of higher learning and enrichment for those who wish to better themselves. Let's differentiate between these two very different types of people and serve their needs accordingly.

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