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By the time a young person reaches the age 13 in Howard County, there is a 10-percent chance they have abused an illicit substance, be it alcohol, tobacco, cannabis, or another drug.
“If they start with alcohol, tobacco, and cannabis at an early age, they don’t give it up,” said Dr. Matt Oliver, CEO of Turning Point Systems of Recovery. “It stays with them. That sets the stage for a lot of things … decisions about who you associate with, how you see your future, the challenges you may find as you get involved with the criminal justice system.
Oliver, Turning Point personnel, and many other community leaders gathered recently at the Grace United Methodist Church to dedicate the Discovery Cafe, Turning Point’s youth gathering space at 216 W. Walnut St. near downtown Kokomo.
Represented at the dedication were also individual organizations that support the Café: Karisa Vandeventer from Kokomo Pride; Amy Roe from Kokomo High School; Tom Hughes, Principal at Maple Crest Middle School; and Jennifer Ogle from Tobacco Free Howard County.
“We know that the youth are our future”, said Oliver to the assembled crowd in the basement of church. “But sometimes we often think ‘They are OK, things are going well.’ Many, many times those who find themselves struggling with mental health and substance abuse issues did so long before they became adults.
“When we think about our future, Discovery Café, and the REACH Program, we know that these investments are very important for the health of our community.”
Turning Point literature states that the mission of The Discovery Cafe is to “create a safe space to empower our youth ages 12-17 with acceptance, passion, forgiveness and inspiration.”
Turning Point Director of Youth Services Dawn Harvey said that “the REACH team works with young people ages 12-17 who are struggling or working through life’s struggles. It could be mental health, it could be substance abuse, it could be family communication … initially ages 12 and up … are the hardest ages to navigate.”
Discovery Cafe offers its “School for Discovery” program, which gives individuals the chance to take classes and participate in educational activities. The Cafe offers “Community Time,” the chance to gather together, share a meal with each other, and have a connection outside of their home and school. Also the program offers a weekly “circle” where youth can share what is on their minds and support each other in “a non-judgmental space.”
Vandeventer, a board member and Community Outreach representative of Kokomo Pride, shared how thankful she was that Discovery Cafe was “a truly inclusive space for the queer and questioning youth of Kokomo; not just a tolerant space, but an inclusive, welcoming space, an accepting space.”
Recovery Cafe Coordinator Naketa Catchings, who manages the adult version of Discovery Cafe at 1232 N. Courtland Ave., noted the successes she has seen since the opening of that cafe in May of this year.
“The Cafe experience on its own makes so much difference in our community,” said Catchings.
Krystal O’Hara, the Discovery Cafe Coordinator, explained that “Our mission is to embrace and inspire our youth. The biggest thing I wanted to do about their space, is that it would be completely about them.”
The space was designed with input from the REACH program participants. After the dedication, the Kokomo Howard County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in front of the cafe, and then the entire group toured the space.
Amy Roe, Graduation Facilitator for Kokomo High School commented, “I too am so grateful for Discovery Cafe…that young people have another safe place to go in Kokomo…to be supported, to be embraced, and to be able to discover who they are and what they have to contribute.”