Ionia Teen Center gives children safe space

Ionia, Michigan – there is an increase in youth violence across the country. In accordance with 2023 Research From the centers of control and prevention of diseases, suicide and murder were the second and third leading causes of death for people from 10 to 24 in 2021. Growing over the center of teenagers In Ionia, it is as important as it gives a safe place for children in the community.

Zoe Hall, 13 years old, has been visiting the center of teenagers since 2022.

“It’s just fun, it’s a place I can go, just a” cold ax, “Hall said in the center on Wednesday. -I usually talking, or I play a lot in ping-pong, it’s really fun, or like eight points” .

Without the center, many of these teenagers would not have to go.

“(I would be) sitting at home for hours on my phone,” said 14-year-old Jalin Cooper.

Ken Baker, the founder of the Center, knows that the house may not be the safest place for some teenagers. That is why he and his wife Sally began the organization in 2013.

“I grew up in a very cruel house,” Baker said. do to survive. “

Bakers hope that the center will prevent teenagers from experiencing the same things he did.

“There was something like this, I may not have made the same choice I made,” Baker said. “Fortunately, the choice I made also made it a reality.”

They implement the rules at the Center for Adolescents to follow.

“We do not allow bullying … When they come, they can talk to parents or do homework, but then we ask them to put them off their phones, because it is very easy for them to start mocking back and forth,” Baker said.

The Center also provides free resources for teenagers in need.

Ionia Adolescents.jpg — Growing over the ionic teenage center

“We have a free room they can get clothes, personal hygienic products, shoes, socks … food, we provide them daily,” Baker said.

This is what many teenagers call “safe space”.

“(This) helps us make better decisions because you really can’t get here in trouble and you create new friends who can save you from problems,” Cooper added.

“(This) just helps a lot with confidence and other parts of my life,” said 14-year-old Emily TV.

The center rests solely on community kindness and always needs more donations.

“We can always use clothes, personal hygienic products. We can use food,” Baker said. “Financing we can always use is obvious, because we have to pay bills that buy food for children.”

Bakers hope to open the second center in the future so that they can reach more children in the Western Michigan. If you want to find more information, visit their website here.

“It’s just fun”: Ionia Teen Center gives children a safe space

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