Leading from the front issuu

native education option, which the Norman Kirk government
incorporated into the NZ education system. Here
the kids were looked after and felt validated and they
flocked to the “Y” School every day. Teaching methods
were innovative — the kids learnt maths by playing
darts! They stopped truanting as they had been doing at
their previous schools and as a result, less youths were
sent to borstal, says Pat.
The first teacher employed for the Downtown Y was
funded by the YMCA and the second teacher was appointed
by the Department of Education. Soon after
opening, the Downtown Y School was designated as
one of the first alternative schools in the country and it
is still operating today, as the Napier Community High
School in Creagh Street, Te Awa.
In 1972 the Downtown Y was going well. Prime Minister
Rob Muldoon visited and gave the venue a citation.
But despite this, funding was always difficult. Funding
for sport, art and culture seemed to flow but it was difficult
to source financial backing for social issues. The
former library premises were rent free but the building
needed refurbishing so the venue moved to Hallenstein’s
in Emerson Street where rent payments were required,
putting a strain on already stretched resources.
It was the last straw for the Downtown Y when its new
location was flooded. So in 1981, it was curtain call for
this particular youth club, with new programmes started
up at the YMCA Latham Street Gymnasium, which was
set up in 1965.
One advantage of the move was Latham Street was
closer to Maraenui. More local youth felt encouraged
to come along and the place became popular with a
broader base. There was a buzz going on, there was fun
being had. One Sunday afternoon a big, burly police dog
handler Rod Moore ran the length of the gym with youth
trying to pull him down. There was huge excitement over
that. One rangitahi broke into the gym on a Friday morning
and hid in the rafters so he wouldn’t miss the excitement
that was coming up on Sunday and his parents
called the police to report a missing youth!
The Police Youth Club came along on Sundays as well
to have some fun and the kids really appreciated this.
These were exciting times. Ross Duncan (see his tribute
on page 80), was involved at national YMCA office and
some of the more traditional YMCAs were also thinking
about casting the net wider than had been done in the
past.
After a period of time though, some kids started pinching
money and at times there was an uncomfortable
atmosphere. A solution was arrived at, shifting the fee
“We Build Strong Kids, Strong
Families, Strong Communities”.
EARLY YMCA FACTS
• YMCA was originally founded in England
during the Industrial Revolution to offer
children somewhere safe to shelter from the
tough, menacing streets
• YMCA was established in NZ in 1855
• The guiding purpose of the movement is to
enable young people to thrive and take their
place in the community
• The YMCA mission statement:
“Building strong kids, strong families, strong
communities, through investing in the next
generation”
paying gymnastics classes to Onekawa. This was called
the OMNI Gym, while the Latham Street venue worked
on offering more relevant programmes for the local kids.
This meant a loss of income from the paying classes.
Sadly several positions had to go and Colin Coates resigned.
The need for a venue to replace the Downtown Y was
still really strong, as complex needs continued to grow.
The idea for Michael’s Place, or The Pub With No Beer,
was floated to go up alongside the Latham Street YMCA.
The concept was driven by social workers and after a
successful approach through Labour MP Gordon Christie,
some funding was made available and a lot of fundraising
carried out (hence the walks), to ensure there
would be another place that youth could call their own.
Michael’s Place was completed in 1983 and it could
have been successful long-term but finances were always
a struggle. The budget didn’t cover staffing and
user-pays didn’t cover overheads. People still come up
to Pat today though and talk fondly about The Pub With
No Beer so they obviously got something right. “Once
again we struggled to secure a permanent venue that
met the glaring needs in the community, even though
the approaches we took and the early intervention, were
showing positive results”.
Looking back Pat remembers two great supporters
during his time with the YMCA — were Alan Dick and
the late Sir Paul Reeves, “Both are remembered to this
day for their tireless efforts in supporting our practical
approaches to connecting with our youth.”
78
Napier YMCA transformed and the Downtown Y is born