Previous Merced fire station getting new life as after school center for youth
Calls by the public for more youth programs have long been familiar to City of Merced leadership.
On Tuesday evening, City Council took steps to address just that by unanimously approving a new project to expand activities for Merced’s young people.
The council gave the green light for a lease agreement to local nonprofit Restorative Justice League, who will inhabit a long-unused fire station at 27th and K streets into an after school youth center.
“This is a good project,” said Mayor Mike Murphy at the meeting. “We’ll continue to look for opportunities to make other investments like this,” he added.
Plans for the youth center, which received multiple interested applicants, have been in the works for over a year. The former fire station underwent various repairs and upgrades, and is now renovated.
While there are similar youth centers in the south region of the city, the new project fills a need in central Merced, Murphy noted.
In collaboration with the Smiley Riley Legacy and Hmong Culture Camp, Restorative Justice League founder and CEO Andre Griggs said the youth center will seek to teach strong social and emotional learning tools, self management and relationship skills.
Programs will run Monday through Friday from 2-7 p.m. Any student as old as high school age is eligible to participate. Interested individuals can go to Restorative Justice League’s website to get involved.
Proposed programming for the center includes a schedule of homework support, college prep, photography, sports culinary arts and zumba.
“Basically, what we’re trying to do is provide a safe space where students can be supported,” Griggs said.
Pivotal to the Restorative Justice League philosophy is students sharing out their views and opinions together, without judgment or shame. Most daily schedules at the youth center include about an hour for youth to make their voices heard.
Griggs said that highlighting diversity and anti-racist practices is also central to the project. The youth center will seek to address racial disparities, provide children in need with crucial resources and bridge gaps between youth of color and community members, including educators and police.
Such concerns are especially at the forefront following the national outcry over the deaths of unarmed Black people at the hands of law enforcement, like George Floyd, Griggs noted. Youth are affected by such incidents, and the city must come together as the community for the needs of young people, he said.
Now that the lease is approved, Griggs said a soft opening is anticipated in mid October. Precautions against the coronavirus pandemic will be implemented, including mask wearing, social distancing within small groups and doing some components online.
“We’re just excited,” Griggs said. “We’ll be able to provide more things in this community for students, and for the community itself.”
This story was originally published September 12, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
