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DonatePublished on November 16, 2024 by Coralie Pinhal, Bilingual Coordinator, Marketing and Communications
Where do kids hang out after school?
I remember when I was a teen, my friends and I had trouble finding a place to socialize after school. I wasn’t the kind of teen to go home alone and zone out in front of a screen for hours. The quiet place in the centre of my small town would complain that our skateboards were too loud and the police would have to come tell us to move somewhere else. But where? There was no skatepark in town. The small local coffee shop wouldn’t want us staying there for a full afternoon if we didn’t buy anything — and our budgets were predictably tight. The parks were great, but too cold in the winter. The mall was often the last resource, but it didn’t offer much for us to do.
When I discovered OUTLoud North Bay, I thought, this was what I dreamt of as a teenager. I wanted to learn more about the important role public community spaces play in strengthening communities, so I met with Seth Compton, executive director and founder of OUTLoud North Bay.
OUTLoud North Bay is a community space for ages 6 to 19, registered as a charity and committed to the health and wellbeing of all the young people in North Bay and surrounding communities, with additional resources for 2SLGBTQ+ youth. The charity offers after-school programs that provide support services such as mental health workshops, harm reduction, suicide prevention, mental health wellbeing, educational supports, life skills programming, tutoring, job ready and employment opportunities. Most importantly, said Seth, it offers a safe space for youth to connect with each other.
The story of OUTLoud North Bay began in 2019, when Seth Compton came out as transgender and went to a candlelight vigil hosted by the North Bay community. About 45 youth gathered at the vigil, sharing their stories about struggling to find a safe place to stay or a place to connect with others like them. For Seth, he couldn’t stand the idea of these youth not feeling safe in their own community. After a bit of research, he came across alarming statistics revealing high suicide rates within the 2SLGBTQ+ community, largely due to unmet needs and lack of support.
In 2020, he decided to open the doors to OUTLoud North Bay, as a way to support the 2SLGBTQ+ youth community. But COVID hit only two weeks later, and Seth saw that it was difficult on all the young people in the community.
“I realized that the space needed to be for everyone and not just 2SLGBTQ,” he said. “We provide resources for that marginalized group, but we also see so many other kids that use this space.”
Seth says that opening the space was “rewarding; it’s giving me an opportunity to really see what my community needs, what we struggle with, what the challenges are, what the barriers are for kids, and we realized that there are a lot of gaps in social services.”
OUTLoud North Bay means a lot to the youth here. I was shaken when I read the message one young community member wrote on the wall
Seth is an established educator, trainer, advocate, mentor and leader with many years of experience working with children and at-risk youth. With his experience and this space, he identified that youth don’t always get the care they deserve. OUTLoud North Bay aims to fill the gap in social services with a focus on mental health.
When I stepped into OUTLoud North Bay, I immediately took a trip down memory lane. I could see myself as a teen sitting on those beanbags facing the stage while listening to a rock show my friends would have put on, or playing videogames and boardgames, or just swinging on the hanging chairs. Then I saw the bar where I could sip a hot chocolate with a friend while catching up on the latest high school news.
I was already blown away by the space and its colourful murals when Seth opened the doors of the indoor skateboard park. I just couldn’t believe it! All my youth inspirations and hobbies were right here, all under one roof.
A closet full of clothes and a kitchen filled with snacks and food up for grabs are clear examples of OUTLoud’s deeper missions, providing youth with basic needs such as food, clothing and care products. This place is not only a safe recreation spot, but it also provides youth with the resources they need for their mental health and wellbeing.
This visit reaffirmed to me the power of public spaces for the health and wellbeing of local communities. OUTLoud North Bay is truly a demonstration of how public spaces can support people’s mental health, offering them a safe space, a sense of belonging and a community they can rely on.
While OUTLoud North Bay now operates on a membership basis, the space is open to the public on special events. But, when we think of community space, we also think of what happens outside of the walls, said Seth. Through tireless efforts and innovative programs, OUTLoud North Bay strives to offer an opportunity for the community to come together and create relationships that are transforming lives. Since opening five years ago, the space has seen about 8,000 youth come through the doors.
OUTLoud North Bay operates with the support of the community, through donations, partnerships and knowledge sharing. Programs are run through partnerships with organizations such as Hands, Children’s Aid, One Kids Place, North Bay Police Service, the OPP and local school boards. Creating these relationships helps youth at OUTLoud North Bay understand and access crucial resources with these community services.
Seth shared that one of the many powerful examples of OUTLoud North Bay’s impact is a young man who first came to the space at age 14, shortly after it opened. He was struggling to graduate, despite completing homework every day with the help of OUTLoud staff and volunteers. When Seth asked him why, the teen explained that he had no plan for after graduation — he simply couldn’t afford to attend college. Drawing on OUTLoud’s partnership with Canadore College, Seth arranged an appointment for him to explore OSAP funding and apply for a cinematography program. He also took him on a college tour, where they connected with the right people. Thanks to these resources, this young man became the first in his family to go to college.
Lessons learned from OUTLoud North Bay have even inspired similar spaces in Northern Ontario communities, including The Drop in Parry Sound and The Lighthouse in Sturgeon Falls, with other spaces on their way.
Learn more
Public spaces like OUTLoud North Bay, built with the local community, can become a place that people feel ownership of and a place they go to for that feeling of connection. This is how we strengthen our communities.
While we don’t all have access to OUTLoud North Bay, we all have access to public spaces that enrich our children.
Find your local community centre and see what and they offer. We know that getting outside creates a connection with nature and increases children’s physical, mental and social development.
Learn more about OUTLoud North Bay and how you can support their work.
