Urban resource centre opens

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A building on Vancouver's Downtown Eastside has been renovated to provide a safe and positive learning environment for urban Aboriginal people wanting a place to meet, study, share ideas and grow.

An open house was held March 4 at 1726 East Hastings Street to launch a resource centre offering socializing, cultural and health workshops and e-learning classes. The centre is the home of two programs known as the Skookhum Hub and the Native Youth e-Learning Centre.

The two initiatives aim to provide opportunities for urban Aboriginal people to learn skills that will help them succeed. Two rooms in this bright, cheerful space are equipped with modern computer labs and high speed Internet. Another room is used as a resource library and a place to hold workshops. In addition to computer training classes and employment readiness workshops, faxing and copying services are available. All services are free of charge.

The programs came from the combined efforts of three service organizations: the Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society (ACCESS), the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) and the Vancouver Native Housing Society.

The Skookhum Hub and Vancouver Native Housing Society staff serve all ages, including children and families, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Monday to Friday. Brianne Island is the program co-ordinator.

Catering to Aboriginal Youth under age 30, the Native Youth e-learning Centre and UNYA staff are ready to assist youth to achieve their academic and personal best. The learning centre is open from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday.

Ernst told us that activities at the centre will be "culture-based, life skills-based." Computer training is offered from beginner to advanced levels.

"Basically things that the community feels are important. So maybe putting more focus on kids in care, putting more focus on empowerment issues.

"What I'm doing is I'm trying to meet the needs of the youth, so I'm not really dictating or making rules for the centre, I'm allowing that for the youth to do, so they create the initiative within themselves. Listening to them and trying to meet their needs rather than what I think they need."

Ernst, a member of the Okanagan Nation, was an employment counsellor for two years.

"We're not necessarily here to get people employed," she said. "There's an Aboriginal employment office in the friendship centre just across the street." But when people are looking for ideas and choices, "maybe before or after they're about to do a change in their life, we just want to make sure they have those resources of support needed. So that when they say, 'I don't know how to do that,' I say, ok, you will by the end of the day."

She said they are currently taking in practicum students and job shadowing students, and are hiring some Aboriginal college and university students to tutor and mentor grades 8 to 10 students who are having difficulty with their studies.

"All of us are Aboriginal youth that work here. We're all at different skill set levels."

So far the partnership of the three organizations is a pilot project whose funding is secure until April.

"We're relying on ACCESS for a lot. We haven't even got a charity number yet," Ernst said.

Ray Charles, 28, is a part-time youth worker who started the first week of March at the centre. He literally walked into the job as he was going around taking pictures for a Web site. Ernst was aware of some of Charles' work at Redwire.com, an Internet resource for youth.

"I totally want to be in on this project...There's a few Native youth resource centres, but nothing that has sort of its own thing," Charles said, referring to the fact that youth are running it.

Just prior to the official opening, the centre was seeing 12 to 15 youth a night.

For more information, telephone (604) 484-3603 or fax (604) 484-3637.