What was once 13,000 sq. ft of former retail space is now home to a long-awaited youth resource centre for those in the Fergus area.
On Wednesday afternoon, the Grove held an official opening ceremony at the Skyline Community Hub at 900 Tower St. in Fergus.
The Grove, formerly known as the Integrated Youth Services Network, is an all-in-one place for supporting the needs of youth aged 12-26.
Inside the new Fergus hub is a variety of rooms ranging from a gym with a basketball net and ping pong table, a movie room, a board room, quiet rooms for meditating or just relaxing, a kitchen and more.
It’s not just fun and games at the Grove as ultimately the goal is to have youth in the community feel comfortable accessing resources such as education and career support but perhaps most importantly increase access to mental health supports.
Cyndy Moffat Forsyth, director of the Grove, explained to the audience the hub gives youth access to over 30 organizations at a centralized place, which she said eases access.
“We are helping youth take the lead in their own mental wellness journey,” Moffat Forsyth said.
“I cannot tell you how heartwarming it is for me as a mother who has tried to help find help for my daughter in a complex, complicated and broken system to now stand here before you and celebrate this occasion.”
She was very thankful for donors such as Skyline, who are also renting the location at a subsidized rate, and all levels of government.
Various politicians, Skyline representatives and mental health officials spoke at the opening ceremony. However, the audience was moved to a standing ovation when a local youth shared her struggle with mental health issues.
Alyx Roulston, 22, explained she struggled with anxiety and depression from a young age which led to challenges socializing and learning in school.
She then struggled with an eating disorder, which hospitalized her at 15, but she was introduced to a specialist. However, Roulston had to go all the way to Kitchener for appointments which made her feel like a burden as she couldn't drive herself.
She told the audience having a place like the Grove would have made a huge difference in her life growing up.
“I could have sat down with a tutor in a safe environment where I can learn in a way that I needed, I can speak to a professional about my anxiety and depression...I could have had a specialist in eating disorders right here,” Roulston said.
After the speeches, Roulston told EloraFergusToday she believes the Grove will save lives.
“Being stuck in Fergus with nothing to do, a lot of people honestly turn to drug use and there is a big problem with addiction and mental health issues,” Roulston said.
“I think here, having a safe place to talk about that will be immensely helpful.”
She also said she sees having more options for recreation in town will benefit the youth, open up their creative side and learn to socialize with people in new ways.
“Just simply trying new hobbies, and maybe for me at least, I look at it as getting a new purpose in life whereas in high school I didn’t feel like I had much of one because I didn’t get to excel in what I love to do,” Roulston said.
Moffat Forsyth said stories like Roulston’s are the real reason behind the Grove.
“There’s too many stories like Alyx’s out there and that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Moffat Forsyth said.
Three Grove hubs are open in Wellington County in Fergus, Erin and Palmerston. Four more in Guelph, with a University of Guelph location tentatively set to open this fall, are in the works.
