Centre of Hope

Melanie MarkChair, Native Youth Centre Capital Campaign

Urban Native Youth Association nativeyouthcentre.ca

by TARA LEE

photo by Jaime Kowal

Growing up, Melanie Mark discovered nurturing support and a sense of belonging at the Thunderbird Community Centre on Vancouver’s Eastside. Now, as chair of the Capital Campaign for the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA) Native Youth Centre, she is working to create a place of hope for the young people of her community.

The envisioned Native Youth Centre will be a “home” for East Vancouver youth who are looking for a safe and welcoming environment where their social, educational, recreational, spiritual, and artistic needs will be met. The financial requirement for the project is $47 million, but Mark remains undeterred. “The new generation, like me, wants to look to a brighter future and not walk with our heads down,” she insists.

This desire to make a difference began long before Mark joined UNYA’s board of directors in 2001. Mark became a Big Sister in 1995, worked for two years at the Burnaby Youth Detention Centre, and has done extensive advocacy work to combat the sexual exploitation of Aboriginal children. “I’m the sort of person who looks to the future,” she explains.

Above all, Mark’s Nisga’a heritage and her role as a mother to Maya make the Youth Centre matter to her on a personal level. “What does my daughter’s future look like in Vancouver? I hope my daughter will be able to walk into the Centre and have access to elders,” she says. “I want her to have a place where she will have a sense of pride.”