Aziza Moyer, Designer and Reporter
The Vashon community is in general agreement that many island teens use and abuse drugs and alcohol. But have those who are concerned ever considered that maybe there are constructive ways to prevent these problems?
Measures have been taken in school in order to attempt to stop drug use, but no alternatives have been offered. Perhaps if youth had a wider array of recreational activities to do on the island, they wouldn’t spend their time participating in unhealthy pastimes in order to alleviate their boredom.
Imagine if there was a center on the island that had activities such as bowling, roller skating, ice skating, or even a trampoline park.
Sure, we have a movie theater — that often plays the same movie for two weeks at a time — but that’s not exactly the kind of social setting that teens want to be paying for on a regular basis.
We also have beautiful beaches and outdoor hobbies such as paddleboarding and swimming… when it’s not 50 degrees and raining. And yes, sports are fun, but as human beings we want opportunities to try new things, relax, and socialize.
In the end, it would be up to the community to decide which options for activities would appeal to students the most, but whatever was built would be a valuable addition to island offerings.
We need a Vashon-based activity center.
A spot like this would save teens the money needed to travel to Seattle every weekend in search of a good time. Traveling into the city is not just expensive, it’s also extremely time-consuming.
In my experience it is often a hassle to go all the way over to Seattle to do something, and then take the ferry all the way back. It seems like an unnecessary effort when there could be equally fun things to do on the island.
Recently, 20.2 million dollars was spent on the construction of the new Vashon Center for the Arts building. At least half of the funds for the arts center were donated by the late Katherine White, a long-time island philanthropist, as well as other major patrons.
I honor this brave woman’s leadership. She inspired generous donations. The response to her donation makes it apparent that there are plenty of people on the island with the means to support such a beneficial project for Vashon’s youth.
In fact, it just so happens that there is a giant building on Vashon for sale: the old base of the company K2, estimated to cost $1 million.
With 160,000 square feet of floor space, 18 acres outdoors, and a prime location near our public schools and the coffee shop Mingelement, it seems like the perfect spot to build an activity center.
And since all three are within easy walking distance of each other, some future community leaders might find ways to sponsor events that link all three of these organizations.
This is a dream worth getting behind.
Yes, this dream will take tremendous work, but I suspect it could be created at only a fraction of the price of Vashon Center for the Arts.
But whatever the cost, it would definitely would be worth it.