Millwood church provides a place for Spokane Valley youth

In just a handful of years the youth programs at Millwood Community Presbyterian Church have grown to attract 60-80 kids regularly to evening and after-school activities.

While about 25 percent are affiliated with the church, the rest show up because there are few other places for them to hang out in the greater Spokane Valley area.

Many attend nearby middle and high schools in West Valley School District, but no one is turned down.

Youth Pastor Brandon Comella said the two programs – Young Life for high school students and Wyldlife for middle school students – have grown to nearly 100 participants.

“There aren’t that many other places for youth out here,” Comella said, adding that he places an emphasis on reaching what he calls “the farthest out” kids – those who struggle with homelessness, poverty, learning disabilities and substance abuse.

Comella said resources to aid the most vulnerable teens are difficult to find in Spokane Valley.

“To get them the help they need I have to send them downtown,” Comella said. “I don’t have a choice.”

Spokane Valley does not have a social services department.

Carolbelle Branch, public information officer for Spokane Valley, said the city focuses on government and believes the best providers of social services for Valley residents are the agencies that specialize in social services.

“Entities that provide social services may apply for financial support, and the City Council reviews those applications and funds some each year,” Branch wrote in an email.

For the 2016 budget, four economic development organizations and 13 social services agencies applied for $341,620, but only $107,000 was available for distribution after Greater Spokane Incorporated received $43,000 for joint business promotions. The second-largest allocation – $26,704 – went to Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, and the smallest was $2,541 given to the YWCA.

The Millwood church’s youth programs rely on 17 volunteer youth leaders, including friends Ashley Brown, 18, and Ryan Hunter, 18, who are both seniors at West Valley High School.

“I guess they see us more like friends, not so much as adults,” Hunter said.

Brown and Hunter both said their main job is to listen to students who confide in them.

“We are not counselors,” Brown said. “We are here to provide a safe place for them to hang out with their friends.”

If someone struggles with a larger issue, like homelessness, then Comella gets involved.

Goodwill’s Good Guides program for at-risk youth between 12 and 18 also meets at Millwood.

Goodwill’s Heather Alexander said the program targets students who struggle in school or at home, or students with social challenges.

“Some are homeless or near homeless,” Alexander said. “There is no shelter out here.”

Good Guides first met at nearby Centennial Middle School but has been meeting at the church for the last two years.

The program matches students with mentors who get more involved on a one-on-one level, both at the group meetings and in other settings.

“They need someone to model what they don’t have at home,” Alexander said. “Sometimes the students come from affluent families, but they are still struggling.”

Bruce Oscarson, 55, has been a mentor since the beginning of Good Guides.

“I really want to see them grow,” said Oscarson, who’s a software engineer. “I try to be an example.”

He said the volunteer job is a little overwhelming sometimes but also very rewarding.

“Sometimes you just have to find the right activity for that kid and everything begins to work out,” Oscarson said.

Alexander said the partnership with Millwood Community Presbyterian Church works well because the church sometimes serves the same families in other ways.

Students are referred to Good Guides by their school counselor, but it is not available at every school.

“The schools are our great partners,” Alexander said. “But there is still a huge unmet need out here.”

Goodwill’s programs are largely paid for by the organization’s thrift stores, and the church pays for its programs.

“We’ve gotten a couple of small grants, but right now I’m just cramming it in as best I can,” Comella said.

Yet he wants to expand the church’s programs.

“In January we are kicking off a bigger effort to reach more kids,” Comella said. He’s hoping to set up bus transportation from Centennial Middle School.

“In late February we may start working on an elementary school program,” Comella said. “The sooner we get to the kids who are struggling, the better.”