Conversations with Youth at Yonge St. Mission - Evergreen Centre for Street Youth

Music and arts facilities—open and easy to access for youth who want to jam but don’t have the space to do it— were some of the great suggestions we heard during our one-on-one chats with youth at Yonge St. Mission - Evergreen Centre for Street Youth on July 12. Having space for print and screen-making studios so youth can design, create and sell their own artistic creations were also among their many ideas.

“We want to start a band but it’s really hard to carry around drums if you‘re on the streets. If we had jam rooms, practice rooms where you could sign out instruments so we could practice that would be awesome,” said Steph (centre).

There was also a call for recreational and drop-in programming specifically for young parents, where they can bring their kids with them to work out, play and learn something new.

“I grew up around Moss Park. I used to take my nieces and nephews there to swim and play hockey. Sometimes it feels like someone stopped caring about us, about this place. We need a village here, to raise our young, to take care of this park and each other,” said Tonia (right).

Thanks to everyone at Evergreen Centre for Street Youth for sharing their ideas about how Moss Park could better serve youth in the community.