Cary Yasuhara, supervisor at The Live Spot, addresses the crowd at the opening night celebration (photo: Rachelle Parker)
On the first of December, I attended the ribbon-cutting celebration at the
Live Spot Youth Center in its new location in downtown Oroville. Last month, when I profiled
Cary Yasuhara about how he came to work at the Youth Center, he asked if I would be willing to come back and cover the Grand Opening, and I'm glad I did.
The last time I was there, it was quiet and empty. This time, the main room sported a huge painting of Martin Luther King Jr., a large flat-screen television and three different tables for playing ping-pong, foosball or pool. There were inspirational posters and art everywhere, the turntables were set up and there was a "school success room" complete with computer stations. All of it was paid for by the
Mental Health Services Act. A "wish list" keeps track of things they'd still like to have, such as a keyboard and a DVD player.
Krysi Chastain, staff member at The Live Spot (photo: Rachelle Parker)
Cary ushered me into a meeting room where I interviewed two of the Live Spot staff: Krysi Chastain and Brenda Garcia. Krysi, a behavioral health education associate at the Live Spot, is a student at
Chico State and will graduate in 2012 with a Bachelor's degree in Health Education. She plans to complete her studies with a Masters in Public Health. Krysi said that all of the youth who work at the Live Spot were once "program participants." Krysi described herself as being one of the "at-risk" youth that has benefited greatly from the programs at the youth center. She admitted to being "unmotivated" in her freshman year of high school. She joined Friday Night Live in her sophomore year and two years later she was editor of the school newspaper. In addition, she helped start the Junior Statesman club and she ended up graduating with a 4.25 Grade Point Average. Currently, she is in her second year of running the
"Friday Night Live" program at nearby Oroville High School. She also runs
"Club Live" at the Nelson Avenue Middle School and participates in
"Impact Mentoring", where 10 successful high school students mentor 10 at-risk middle school students.
Brenda Garcia, staff member at the Oroville Live Spot (photo: Rachelle Parker)
Though not considered "at-risk," Brenda has also taken advantage of all the opportunities offered to her by the center. When she was a sophomore in high school, some older friends encouraged her to participate in "Friday Night Live" because they told her "it would look good on a college application." Her friends eventually stopped going, but she continued. In 2007, she was asked to become a Mental Health Intern. Currently, she is studying at Butte College with plans to apply to San Jose State for a Master's degree in Business Administration. She credits the Live Spot with shaping the person she is today, and says she is "always available" to program participants. Her goal is to continue working to help youth.
As we were finishing up, a young man walked into the room and both girls rose excitedly to give him hugs. Anthony was one of approximately 15-25 youths whom the girls had "worried about" since the old location closed its doors in August. Brenda said that some of the parents would not let their kids participate in the program when it was in Southside. She thinks the new location will be seen as "safer" by parents, and that more youth will be able to participate. As he promised, Cary Yasuhara has made arrangements for a van to transport Southside participants to and from the new location every day they are open.
Live Spot staff member Vernon Spearman gives a tour to Anne Robin, director of Butte County's Behavior Health Department (photo: Rachelle Parker)
As the center filled with people, I caught up to
Anne Robin, the newly-appointed director of the Behavioral Health Department for Butte County, and asked her what she thought of the Youth Center. "The whole thing about this program," she told me, "is that it is open to any kid in the community to learn about themselves, have fun, feel safe and develop hopes and dreams for the future." When I found Robin, she was being given a tour of the facilities by Vernon Spearman. Spearman, like Krysi, is a behavioral health education associate at the Live Spot. In another life, he played fourteen years of
minor league baseball. Just this last spring he received his Bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice. He hopes to work as a juvenile probation officer. He has only been with the Live Spot for six months and as we were speaking, a parent of one of the participants walked up to give Vernon a compliment and shake his hand.
Food at the opening event was provided by Kenyatta Arrif, who owns The Sugar Spot in South Oroville. Though she is still recovering from a recent heart attack, Kenyatta is an advocate for youth in her community and very much wanted to be a part of the Grand Opening.
After much milling around, it was time for Cary Yasuhara to take the microphone and introduce his staff and directors. One by one, he introduced the many people involved in the day-to-day operation of the Youth Center, who each spoke about what the Live Spot means to them. Yasuhara then made an emotional thank you to the community-at-large for their partnership in this endeavor. Some of those mentioned were The Cherokee House, The Axiom, Mitch Brown (retired chief of police), the Oroville YMCA and a special shout-out to Sandy from Tong Fong Low, a favorite local Chinese restaurant.
When it came time for Yasuhara to thank his wife, there was not a dry eye in the house, including his. "Ah…I'm going to lose a contact," he said, as he wiped tears from his eyes.
