Little used St. Helens office transforms into fun Teen Room

Imagine being a teenager and having to wait several hours in an Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS) office. The office is, well, bland. There’s nothing to do except stare at your phone screen and wait.

Or, you’re meeting with your sibling who has been placed in a different home. The room you’re put in is decorated like a baby’s nursery – complete with rocking chairs and a changing table. (Eeewww!)

But wait! All that boringness has changed in the ODHS St. Helens office, 500 N. Columbia Hwy. A new, fun-filled “Teen Room” has been created.

Here’s how it all happened.

Amanda Dodson, Columbia County Child Welfare Supervisor, was working to find space for Columbia County teens to go during these times when a team member reached out and asked, “What do our teens need?”

“It was like magic. After a few introductions and pulling the right folks together, ODHS met with the local St. Helens Elks Lodge #1999 and shared our ideas,” she said.

Tim Cork, District Manager, wasn’t using his office in St. Helens much because he travels between there and Tillamook and Astoria.

“My backpack was my office. It was a waste of space and there was a daily need for teens to have some place to hang out in our office,” he said.

When Dodson asked if the Elks could take over this space to create the Teen Room, Cork didn’t hesitate.

The St. Helens Elks Lodge has helped provide opportunities for youth in foster care for several years and have recently added a focus on helping teens.

“I reached out to the local ODHS office and said, ‘what do you need this year’? They told me about the Teen Room idea and other needs for teens. Everyone thinks of doing things for the little kids but teens have specific needs too. I wrote a grant to the Elks National Foundation requesting $4,000 and it was approved, then local Elks members donated additional items and funds to complete the Teen Room and other teen-centered projects at the St. Helens ODHS office”, said Annette Pixley, Elks Grant Coordinator. “The Elks’ motto is ‘Elks Care, Elks Share’. Our organization is very charitable and benevolent. Our members especially love helping kids and teens.”

Lodge members then got to work. They met with a group of teens they knew to learn about their likes and dislikes. Then they got to work on purchasing a futon couch, bean bag chair, TV, games, books, graphic novels, movies, a Wii video game console, retro video games such Mario Kart, a mirror for doing hair and makeup, a mini-fridge filled with drinks, inspirational sayings for the walls, and the Elks green and purple logo.

Dodson, said, “The St. Helens Lodge comes together for us in so many ways. They have a huge group of people with a heart for teens,” she said.

Here are some of the comments staff have said about teens using the room:

• “I have personally spent hours in the room with a teenager, it has given us something to do and not sit at the ODHS office. She and I played Pictionary and giggled up a storm one day. Also, she has even noticed when they add new items such as the white board and talked about how excited she was for it.”

• “The room is great, teens used to be bored all day and now they have a room they go to and can spend time in.  They absolutely prefer this room, and are able to do things they like to do.”

Cork also credits Dodson for her hard work coordinating the response and making sure there was an approach to this work.

“Without her hard work this would not have gotten off the ground,” he said.

Plans have started for the next Elks project at St. Helens ODHS – a teen clothing closet complete with culturally-affirming African American hair care products, plus clothing and personal care items for teens. The Elks also created a grant program this year to provide local teens in care with items not covered by the usual funding, including drivers education, prom attire, funding for after graduation parties, personal care items such as culturally-affirming haircare, contacts for teens, and much more.

Pixley said, “The Elks want teens to feel supported and loved in a time when their life is difficult. “I absolutely love my role as Grant Coordinator with the Elks and how we’re able to make a difference for local youth. These children are our future, and hopefully they grow up and remember the Elks. Maybe someday they will want to be part of the Elks and make a difference too.”