Idea #9: Teen/Youth Center
Downtown Spokane desperately needs to solve its "disengaged youth" problem. (Naturally, others might, not-so-respectfully, call it a "street kid" problem.) It has tried playing classical music to try to deter potential congregants. It has tried using a high-pitched "mosquito" to do likewise. But perhaps deterrence is the wrong type of medicine.
Perhaps we need to take a more decisive and solutions-based approach to this problem. Perhaps we need something like a teen/youth center downtown for 13-22 year olds. Currently, there are few such facilities that cater to youth downtown. If we were able to re-route kids off of the streets and into more positive pursuits, then perhaps we could also have a strong chance at reversing the cycle of poverty that plagues many of these children. Especially if such a center offered homework assistance and skills development programs, like word processing clinics and the like. Ideally, it would bring together services from various nonprofit groups under one roof, and while it need not be as fancy as the YMCA-PG&E facility shown above, it could make a big difference and send a positive message to our city's youth.