By Megan Sayles
AFRO Staff Writer
msayles@afro.com
The Enoch Pratt Free Library is making sure Baltimore’s young people have an inclusive, safe place to gather and nurture their interests after school with the Earl Teen Center. Located at the central branch in Mount Vernon, the space offers science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) programming—giving students access to a sound and video production studio, makerspace, learning lab and reading room.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Genive Purchase
With the center, the library system is striving to support “opportunity youth,” or young people aged 16 to 24 who are disconnected from both school and work.
“We define opportunity youth as any student who is suffering from housing insecurity, food disparities, learning disabilities, and anything that impacts their day-to-day life on a larger scale,” said Genive Purchase, a deputy director at the Enoch Pratt Free Library’s central branch and Maryland State Library Resource Center (SLRC). “In the teen center, we see a lot of students who don’t have the safest home situations or access to proper food, and they generally might not be accepted at home.”
Purchase said that the center stays stocked on snacks, knowing that it may be the only food that the teens eat that day. Staff also go beyond programming to address other needs the teens may have, including connecting them with mental health support and housing assistance and other social services.
The Earl Teen Center’s broader aim is to expose young people to career pathways.
“Our goal is to make sure that we’re assisting kids to expand their knowledge, their skill sets and explore potential opportunities for financial security for their future,” said Purchase.
From participating in robotics and photography clubs to learning how to sew and use 3D printers, the activities available at the center are designed to help teens build practical skills and imagine futures they might not otherwise foresee for themselves.
Chaya Taylor and Jessica Carter, 16-year-old students at the Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women, said the center has allowed them to discover new interests and make new friends. The pair both participate in the photography club and have enjoyed learning how to use a camera.
Taylor and Carter also said the Earl Teen Center provides them with a welcoming environment to spend time after school.
Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women said Carter. “I would just have to go straight home, to a park that’s near our school, to the coffee shop or to a marketplace that we no longer have if not. The staff make a safe community for teens.”
Carter noted that staff members at the Earl Teen Center have supported her through rough times.
“I’ve been through a lot, and every time I come here, I’m able to sit down, talk to my favorite staff about it and they will help me calm down,” said Carter. “They’ll give me advice on how I can overcome the challenges and just make sure that I feel my best and understand what I can do to get out of the situation.”
Both Carter and Taylor said the center is a model for the kinds of spaces teens need access to as they navigate school and home life. They called on adults to create more places where teens can feel respected and accepted.
“I think this library and the teen center are a good representation of how teens would like to be treated because a lot of places just treat teens like they’re bad,” said Taylor. “The teen center allows you to actually feel human and like you’re just as good as everybody else even though you’re just a teenager.”
