Abby Nadeau
Staff Writer

On Tuesday, June 19 the Wyoming City Council made a statement.

For some it was simply a financial statement, but for others it was a promise of things to come.

The council voted and approved an $8500 donation to help the Forest Lake Teen Center keep its doors open. Not only did they make a financial donation, but Mayor Sheldon Anderson made a personal promise that the Teen Center would stay open for years to come.

For Anderson the decision to donate to the Teen Center was not only determined by the amount of Wyoming students who attend the center, but by a past that could have been changed if a place like the Teen Center would have existed when he was growing up.

Teen Center hopes

In early July 2002 Independent School District 831, in a 6-0 vote, gave the Teen Center a green light.

The idea of the Teen Center was to focus on the time right after school, from 3 to 6 p.m. when most students in grades seven to nine are left alone at home.

Forest Lake Youth Development Director Kathy Bystrom said many parents do not get home until 5 or 6 p.m. even though their children are coming home between 2:30 and 3 p.m.

“Research points to the time period between three and six in the evening when kids are most at risk,” Bystrom said. “Our idea was to create options for those who weren’t interested in the organized sports or activities.”

When the Teen Center first opened, funding for the center was to be supported by funding from all the youth programs together.

Bystrom said some youth programs bring in more revenue than others and those programs’ revenue stream brings in enough to support other programs that may be lacking.

But in the last couple years the method of funding for youth programs has changed and now the Teen Center must be able to support itself; a task that has proven daunting, especially since the center does not charge the students who attend.

At least $20,000 is needed annually to keep the Teen Center up and running on a weekly basis during the school year.

This year Bystrom was given a mandate to either raise the funds to support the Teen Center, or close permanently.

And when the news reached Anderson, he decided to do more than just “hope.”

‘Those kids’

When Anderson says “those kids” he means it in the most sincere way.

During an interview on Wednesday, June 27, smiling Anderson said, “I was one of ‘those kids’.”

“Those kids” Anderson is referring to are a group of young teens who are looking for a place to fit in, but are having a hard time.

“Those kids” are students who aren’t interested in school-sponsored activities and who have found a home away from home in the Teen Center. “Those kids” are members of the community who are looking for some support.

Growing up in Maplewood Anderson said he was “no stranger to the PD.” He dropped out of school in the 11th grade and without a supportive family he fell into a world of dangerous behavior.

He would eventually rise above the situation, earn his GED, create a successful security company and become the Mayor of Wyoming, but it didn’t come fast or easy.

“If something like this [the teen center] would have been around when I was growing up I could have stayed in school,” Anderson said.

So when a recent Forest Lake Times article said the Teen Center would close without community support, Anderson reacted.

“I couldn’t just sit on my hands and hope someone else did something,” he said.

He picked up the phone and called Bystrom.

Bystrom provided statistics on the students who attend the center including their home town.

Anderson learned that 25 percent (31 kids of the 125 registered) of the students who attend the center are from Wyoming. The statistics also showed that beyond the daily “drop-ins” roughly, 50 percent, or 57 students, are from Forest Lake.

That fact alone was enough for Anderson to approach the Wyoming city council about donating a portion of the city’s gambling fund to the center.

Anderson said that the money from the fund must be spent on youth related activities.

“That was the goal of the fund,” Anderson said. “It’s money we can use for youth and it’s not taxpayer money.”

The council approved the $8500 donation but Anderson wasn’t finished with just a monetary donation.

“I’m confident they [the council] would have given me the $13,000, but I wanted to get the other cities and townships involved,” Anderson said. “I want the other communities to take stock in the center.”

Getting involved

Anderson started calling surrounding mayors and town board members, asking for support.

He started by contacting Roger Elmore from Wyoming Township who offered $1300, cleaning out the township’s charitable donation fund.

Elmore said Anderson had brought the Teen Center’s “plight to our attention,” and Bystrom provided the Town Board with background information about the amount of Wyoming students who benefit from the program.

“We whole-heartedly support programs like hers,” Elmore said. “It is our duty and pleasure to do what we can in support.”

Anderson went on to contact the Mayor of Forest Lake, Stev Stegner who brought the matter up a recent council meeting on Monday, June 25.

The council ultimately decided not to donate to the center stating they already donate to the Lakes Area Youth Service Bureau. Although, council member Bo Bogotty did say he will continue private efforts to help raise dollars for the teen center fund.

“We donate to the Youth Service Bureau too,” said Anderson.

Undaunted, Anderson said he’ll keep pursuing area cities for their support.

“I’ll just put the touch on them,” he said. “And I’ll keep putting the touch on them.”

On Wednesday Anderson had plans to contact city and township officials from Scandia, Hugo, Lino Lakes, Linwood, among others.

Anderson is hoping to get the Teen Center through this year and then start planning ways for the center to be self-sustaining.

Bystrom said that with the help and support from people like Anderson the Teen Center can become a place where teens can not only feel at home, but thrive to become active members in the community.

For more information about the Teen Center or to make a donation please contact Kathy Bystrom at 651-982-8391.

Top of Page