A new Youth Hub opened at Weston Public Library on Nov. 16, which library staff said will have a positive impact on youth in the community.
“Youth Hubs are a space for teens ages 13 to 19 where they can come and actively engage with their peers, join a program or workshop to learn something new. It’s a space for teens to get homework help and tutoring and get a healthy snack, although a lot of these services are pre-COVID,” said Mohamed Abdullahi, a Youth Hub Librarian at Weston Public Library. “It’s a space where we support their development and it’s a safe space for them.”
Abdullahi said that the space reserved for teens is fairly new, with Youth Hubs starting to become available four years ago.
According to the Toronto Public Library website, youth will have access to a drop-in study space and technology, such as laptops. Abdullahi said that the Hub will be receiving equipment, such as a new TV, over the course of the next few weeks.
“There are currently 20 Youth Hubs and there will be 23 by Nov. 23,” Lisa Heggum, the Youth Services Manager of Toronto Public Library, wrote in an email. According to Heggum, the Weston Youth Hub is one of ten being added to libraries throughout 2020.
Library staff said that the Youth Hub will be situated in the historical part of the Weston Library building. The library is undergoing shelving changes to create a separate space for teens to take part in the new service.
A 2017 report from Social Planning Toronto found that about 40 per cent of children under the age of 18 populating the Weston area live in poverty. As stated in the 2019 Operating Budget Briefing, Youth Hubs are situated in or near Neighbourhood Improvement Areas (NIAs) as part of Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy with the aim to provide access to programs for children and teens and support the growth of programs outside of school for youth outside.
“This service is standardized across the entire city,” said Sheldon Hood, who is also a Youth Hub Librarian at Weston. “Weston deals with a lot of economic and racial disparity, but the service you’re getting at the Youth Hub here is going to be the same service as any other Youth Hub.”
The Toronto Public Library Youth Services Strategy Report describes its alignment with the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy (TYES). According to this report, the library joins this strategy in focusing on vulnerable youth who “need improved access to opportunities to reach their potential” and states that services provided by the library, such as Youth Hubs, address barriers for youth including safe spaces, education, and employment.
Christina Paschakis, the Weston Library Branch Head, said during an in-person interview that pre-COVID, the library would see upwards of 40 to 50 teens coming to the library per day to hang out. “The youth hub will have a lasting impact because we’re going to be able to provide them a better space that’s actually a proper space for them,” said Paschakis. “Children will also see the teens in the space and they’re going to be more likely to join when they become a teen, rather than being out on the street.”
“I think it’s a good idea,” said Latisha Taylor, the Children’s Program Coordinator at Frontlines— a children and youth specific centre located in Weston. “Sometimes home is not enough. Having places like the Youth Hub where you can go and you know that somebody is always going to be there is very important to youth.”
“This is not something I had as a teen. If it was something me and my peers had, it would have had such a positive impact,” said Abdullahi, who grew up in the Weston neighbourhood. “It’s going to be fantastic for everybody.”