St. Luke’s Lifeworks' Youth Center Opens Its Doors

' Youth Center has been over a year in the making, with the maintenance staff putting in extra hours to build a space that will serve as a functional and inviting sanctuary for the children living in St. Luke’s Lifeworks shelter.

St. Luke’s hopes that the Youth Center will be a key part of a program that helps their young people to learn the skills necessary to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty.

“The most effective way to break the cycle of homelessness is with the children,” Jason Shaplen, CEO of St. Luke’s Lifeworks, said. “What we’ve done here is a good thing, a very good thing, it’s something that is going to have a significant impact. We may not see that impact for 10, 15 years, but it will, and homeless children who were probably going to be homeless adults have a very good shot not to.”

Mayor Michael Pavia and Congressman Jim Himes joined Shaplen in the teen room to honor the opening of the Youth Center. The Youth Center was supported by the Vince & Linda McMahon Family Foundation, Purdue Pharma, and St. Barnabas Episcopal Church.

“This organization probably saves the taxpayer $6 million a year in services that would have to be provided by the city, but instead they are provided better at St. Luke’s Lifeworks,” Pavia said. “What St. Luke’s has created here is a circle of plenty where everyone can fulfill a component of their life that they wouldn’t get anywhere else.”

Himes and Pavia both praised St. Luke’s Lifeworks and remarked about the many occasions that have brought the two there to celebrate a new program or achievement.

“I know the importance of mentorship, the importance of being able to see a path forward,” Himes said. “There will be little boys and girls coming out of here and saying, “I made a friend.””

For Mirlande Pressat, youth services manager at St. Luke’s Lifeworks, the Youth Center will provide an opportunity for her to see many of the children in the shelter every day — building stronger relationships with each of them on an individual basis and following their progress at school and at home.

“I want the children to enjoy coming here, I want them to create and build on their love of learning,” Pressat told Patch.

Pressat led Linda McMahon and a group of assembled staff, volunteers, donors, and friends on a tour of the Youth Center.  A brightly colored rec room provides space for foosball and air hockey, a larger teen room and an elementary school room offers space for general activities, and a gym provides plenty of space for the kids to be active.

A room dedicated to parents allows the adults to play an active role in the Youth Center — something Pressat and St. Luke’s Lifeworks feel is critical to the success of the program.

“I didn’t want them to just drop the children off and never meet me,” Pressat said.

Going forward, St. Luke’s Lifeworks will still need volunteers to help out in the late afternoons, donations of furniture to finish the space and food to maintain their healthy snacks. They also plan to host Friday-nights-out at various events and Friday-nights-in where the Youth Center would stay open until 9 pm.

“It will be a safe place to talk about the pressures related to living in a shelter,” Shaplen said.  

“A space to call their own,” Pressat echoed.