Youth Local Activity Place in Hajnówka
The youngsters will soon be moving to their destination. So far they have been spending time in the auditorium and that’s where it’s been happening! Painting bags, making bracelets, drawing, board games, having Christmas Eve together, but also just plain lazing around. Sometimes there were so many young people coming that the mentors got lost in the accounts.
The mentors are the Metamorphosis Association, which took over the running of Local Activity Place two months ago. Specifically Ms Ula, who is on site. On site, in the former building of the Białystok Polytechnic at Piłsudskiego 8. The Local Activity Place is open Tuesdays to Saturdays from 3 to 9 p.m. – hours that suit young people. And nothing happens here without them. Of course, Ula is there to watch over them, make sure they’re safe, give them advice from time to time, but it’s up to the young people to decide what they want to do here. When Christmas was approaching, they decided, for example, that they would make a Christmas Eve. They brought the dishes themselves, set the table, decorated it beautifully. Beforehand, there was a whole series of Christmas activities – then the young people made cards, decorations, wreaths. It turned out at the time that many of them had a lot of artistic talent.
– MAL-it's a cool picture of what a place where young people are in charge can look like. It turns out that they know how to take care of themselves, they just need a safe space to do so.
She also recalls other images. Young people freezing in front of a shopping centre or riding buses from one bus terminal to another – at least it’s warmer there and you can be together. Now young people have a place in Hajnówka. Not everyone knows about it yet, not everyone has found out what it is like here, and perhaps some will still prefer to come to the shop. But the good things have already happened. The Youth Local Activity Place in Hajnówka is up and running.
What young people want is happening there. There has been bag-painting, workshops in drawing, guitar playing and, more recently, a sewing class on the machine has taken off. There is no plan for Saturdays; they are deliberately looser. On Saturdays, the young people watch something, eat popcorn or have candyfloss. The auditorium is large enough that even during the week there is room for everyone. Some take part in activities, others play board games. There are also those who come here to do their homework. If someone needs to, they can do nothing but lie back and listen to music. You can have a warm drink and make yourself something to eat. The space has been decorated cosily – there are loungers, carpets, greenery. When it gets warmer, you can go out onto the patio. There are old, spreading trees providing shade. There’s a lot of room to spread out the deckchairs underneath. The young people already have a lot of ideas about how to arrange the courtyard and what to do here.
The MAL is an inclusive space. Young people from different schools come here, friendships are formed. Young people tell their friends about this place, they bring their friends.
– The interest has exceeded our expectations. During the week we have 10-15 visitors a day, on Saturdays 40-50. At its peak it was even 70-80 people. By then, there were so many participants that we stopped counting.
A calendar of regular events is being developed. This is so that young people know, for example, that there are drawing or creative classes on Tuesdays and learning to sew on the machine on Thursdays. Interestingly, there is no shortage of adult Hajnówka residents who want to share their knowledge and run workshops here as volunteers. The MAL has even hosted talks on philosophy. Local entrepreneurs have also supported the place, donating, for example, art materials or household appliances.
The young people will soon have more space at their disposal. The renovation of the room designed for them has been completed. There is a kitchen, a bathroom and a separate entrance from the courtyard. The room will soon be furnished with a comfortable sofa, table and chairs, as the young people indicated during the consultation.
There is also a second Local Action Place in Hajnówka, which runs the University of the Third Age. We will write about what’s happening at the senior citizens’ club soon.