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New boss at youth centre Experimenting with later drop-in hours for teenagers
Shawn Giilck
Northern News Services
Published Thursday, August 15, 2013
INUVIK
The Inuvik Youth Centre has a new boss who is working to have more teens come through its doors.
Doris Marshall is the new executive director of the Inuvik Youth Centre. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo
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Doris Marshall arrived in town for a minimum six-month stint as executive director for the centre. She's at least the third person in charge at the centre in the last three years, but she's not worried about the revolving door.
"I'm professionally fearless," she declared with a wide smile during an Aug. 9 interview.
Most people back home thought it was a wonderful opportunity for her, Marshall said. Only one friend expressed some dissatisfaction with the idea once it became clear she wasn't planning on being home for Christmas.
"We're working that out now," she said with a slight smile.
She's an Ontario native who has taken a sabbatical from her position as an executive director of a youth centre in Smith's Falls, Ont., in the central part of the province, to head North.
Her background is primarily in nursing, which led her to branching off into youth work.
Like the Inuvik Youth Centre, the one in Smith's Falls operates under the auspices of Youth Centres Canada. Marshall was asked by the head of the organization to take the job in Inuvik on at least a temporary basis, after former executive director Samantha Stokell left for another job.
"It's kind of hard to say no to that," Marshall said with a laugh. "And I've always had an interest in the North, so it was sort of an easy decision to make. My children are grown now, and even though I have some deep attachments to my job in Smith's Falls and the people there, I decided to come."
She's been on the job nearly three weeks now, and is getting to know the community.
"I'm really excited about what I see here," she said. "And our co-ordinator, Ali McConnell, is an absolute treasure and the biggest asset to this centre."
Marshall said she has taken advantage of Inuvik's walkability as a way of getting a feel for the community.
Marshall is currently sharing a house and is spending a great deal of time while away from work wandering Inuvik and meeting people, she said.
One of the things on her list of job priorities is to attract more teenagers to the centre's programming. At the moment, it's doing a good job of reaching the younger Inuvik children with an "excellent" range of programs, she said, but it's not working as effectively with the teen segment.
Marshall said the likely cause is the uncertain status of the centre over the years, including a closure following the departure of Jimmy Rutan for another job. Events such as this likely led to a loss of relevancy for teenagers, Marshall said.
Since it reopened under Stokell and McConnell, efforts have been made to reach out to them again, but there's more work to be done, Marshall said.
One of the things she and McConnell have been experimenting with is having later drop-in hours devoted to teenagers, with some success so far.
As for her interim status and six-month stint, that could be subject to change, she said with a wink.
"I'll get to see some of the winter and the polar night, and after that, who knows?"
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