Located in the Shuswap Region of British Columbia, our organization was formed in 2002 to provided support and resources for youth in our region. Our mission is to develop and sustain opportunities for youth to be positively connected within the community through active living, social interactions, and sharing space with adults.
“Mission Driven,Community Focused”
The purpose of the society is to operate a youth centre which offers structured programs that are directed towards resolving problems that are faced by youth and to provide, administer and maintain a multi-use community facility for the benefit and use of the community.
History of Aspiral Youth Partners
In the years 2000 and 2001 Salmon Arm had a business open in the community which was a huge draw for young people. The downside was that this Pool Hall started to draw kids into petty criminal activity as a way of being able to pay for their time and activity at the business. The operation of this business pointed out a significant concern within the community. We had not provided these kinds of opportunities for young people to gather in a more positive way. The response was twofold, the city through its business licensing put a great deal of pressure on the business, and a group of those involved in supporting young people who had been looking at how to better support young people wrote a proposal to develop better options and alternatives for youth.
The business closed, the group partnered with the Downtown Improvement Association and was successful in finding three years of funding through the National Crime Prevention Center to create sustainable youth resources within the community. We had the funding now we needed a not for profit organization to manage it. Salmon Arm Partners in Community Leadership Association was formed. Little did we realize how often we were going to have to say that name as the society grew. Next April (2022) will be 20 years of service.
With additional funding in our first year through Service Canada we brought together a group of 10 young people and a brilliant facilitator to engage in different activities including a community forum to find what young people needed to feel connected and supported within their community. We recognized very early from the responses that we got that a consistent place for people to connect was important for sustainability.
At this same time the School District was closing an Elementary School. In discussions they agreed to let us use the building. This provided space for youth and space for community groups to find space for a wide range of social connections for the community.
We started with a dedicated space at the Downtown Activity Centre called the Outer Limits (a name chosen by youth themselves.)We have developed the space to have a kitchen and meeting space and have offered both structured programs and drop in activities to meet the needs young people identified. Early on we developed a summer program called Party in the Park which takes programming out into the community to parks and beaches where young people can access within walking distance.
Although we work hard to generate some of our revenue through social enterprise we still need the support of our community. Through grants, gifts and other contributions by groups and business’s like the Salmon Arm Savings and Credit Union, Rotary, McDonalds, Askews, Save on Foods, Shuswap Foundation, City of Salmon Arm and many others, we have been able to grow and sustain our vision.
Youth development and support through Social Programs and opportunities.
This is where it all began. With the vision of having sustainable resources for youth in Salmon Arm, our belief is that young people need a consistent place to connect to as they grow to find support and opportunities to engage in meaningful activity and mentorship in charting their course. All young people struggle as they grow some more than others. Some grow up in very difficult realities. Our work focuses both on supporting young people to be able to engage in successful ways within the community and to work with the community to better support and engage with young people. We connect resources and supports to the young people in our community who need them.