_ are. oe a, ee ry a when i By. SARAH A: ZIMMERM AN. GIRLS as young .as. 12 an 13 putting . themselves into compromising situations, including — providing sexual favours in exchange . for a warm place ‘to sleep-at night, © say some local teens. They aren’t on the street, but are average teens who still live at home, though “home” can sometimes be a ‘scary or unhealthy place to be. ” Five teenagers from Parkside’ Secondary, School gathered in.a locked classroom recently to discuss’ why a youth emergency. shelter is: needed in Terrace... _They spoke about young people - who’ve had a fight with their parents and are kicked out‘of the house, teens - ‘that live with verbally, physically or, weeknight parties are the norm. » sexually abusive parents and ones who: live. in environments . where Sleeping in’ doorways, under ‘park benches ‘or-at a friend’s house | is a better alternative than staying at home some nights, the teens say. Unfortunately those are the best case scenarios. “If you don’t have a safe place to’ go you'll put yourself-in unsafe situ- ations you might not want to be in,” “a says an articulate teenaged girl}. who * did not want to be named. © “T see that a lot with the younger ' girls.” She knows-young girls who have “put out” because they have no other _ place to’spend the night. “People think this doesn’t ex- ist in Terrace — it does,” says Deb- ‘bie Scarborough, a consultant. who hopes to. open a youth ‘safe home here. She’s trying to raise money for the project. It would be a place where. teen- agers can sleep. overnight. It would provide a warm bed, toiletries, meals and counselling and feferral - ‘services. lution for teens who find themselves ’ inunsafe situations.- _ 7 . Jenny Bowsher, 17, believes there "are enough teenagers in Terrace who “need a-place to-stay on intermittent nights that the proposed facility would be full. - “It shocked me, I thought -the - shelter would accept teenagers but it docsn?t,”-she says. ‘The men’s emergency shelter 19 and the transition house is desig- It is meant to be a temporary so- 9 can’t house people under the age of . ‘nated for women and children flee- ing abuse. - was:. sexually abusing: her,” ‘Bowsher. . | JENNY: BOWSHER, "Debbie Scarborough and Brandy Benson look over some papers together. Each of the two teens wrote letters of. sup | port for ‘Scarborough’ s plan to open,a youth emergency shelter in Terrace. ae ‘Local teens need sk elter_ ’'s not safe at home| “trate-in class.a difficult thing t to do, ; - he says. 7 That means teenagers a are falling through the cracks. “They have 10 beds, they’d prob- ably have. 10: people. there every, ‘day,” says Bowsher’ of the Proposed ‘facility. Though she says her own home life is stable, she hears stories from other teens who need a place to stay when they can’t go home. She knows. one girl who made ‘some very. poor choices because she had exhausted all the alternatives. “She was 16 and she’ went to live with her dealer because she couldn’t stay: at home because her step- -dad . “She had gone to different friends and stuff and it was just the end of - the line.” - The~ lone teenaged boy in the group says he recently spent the night roaming the streets after being kicked out of his house. He waited until he knew:his parents would be~ - asleep before sneaking back into the house. That makes getting up for school the’ next day and trying: to concen- The War Ans pgs trie re" (anadas Military. Heritage — MOOR GRAN coeacees BEREAN EA ceed NED ES —— Tosee a listing of our Canadian Miltary Heritage documentaries, vst our Web ste a worw.waramps.ca or order a pamphlet “by calling 1-800-250-3030,” “Platinum Award” For the month of January: HIGH ACHIEVEMENT “| Royal LePage Terrace Congratulates Shannon . McAllister Success on attaining Royal LePage Terrace 7 Our Growth in sales means many satisfied home Buyers & Sellers CERN serene AUN ODED neceecesees DO UDOD EE mexomeees BE NTTEEE ROYAL LEPAGE eas TERRACE says: sare a‘good'one;” The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, February. 15, 2006 - 'A3 i News In Brief fan emergency : shelter was open in Terrace he would have gone there so he could at least have a warm, safe place to sleep, he says. : _ But without a service like that, he says young men and girls do what- ever they need to in order to get their next meal. “They might go steal something - from a store or steal something t to sell for food,” he says... The teens say boys tend to resort .. Girls may resort to “other things” including ‘sleeping “with people to ‘to stealing, violence or selling drugs “| “in order to get by on their own. get a hot meal’and a place | to spend -the night, he says... The teens say. the young. people. : ‘making . these types of - decisions -come from all walks of: life and so- ‘cio-economic backgrounds. «: “Any ‘kind of. home like middle income, high’ income...just because you’re a parent doesn’t. mean you ‘says Bowsher. -“L«Ahink.any teen that is having a bit 6f ‘a rough time would:use the . shelter, it doesn’t matter what kind ° of money they have.” a ie BOOM R EE exec Business ‘Insurance wi ightman & Smith _ Insurance ue o Where Quality Makes The Difference gr S Mountain hit and run TERRACE. RCMP’ are: seeking the public’s help in solving a hit-and-run accident at Shames Mountain ’ Feb. 3.’ Some time between 10:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. someone struck’a truck on its driver’ s side where the box j joins _ the cab. : Anyone with information is asked to call Terrace “ RCMP at 638-7400 or Crimestoppers at 635-8477. Crimestoppers | is an anonymous. way of providing ‘ information. ; son Movies stolen | A THIEF or thieves smashed the front door of The | Movie Gallery on Lakelse Ave. with a rock and made: : off with an armful of movies Feb. 9. | _ - The culprit stole 49. DVDs in their ori iginal packag- . ing, worth about $1,470, at 2:21 a.m., then fied horth- =-bound on Sparks St. on'a bicycle. ~ Terrace RCMP ask the public to contact them with any information about this theft. Information is also welcome by calling Crimestop- “pers at 635- 8477. Won't be charged TWO: PEOPLE who may have worked together to ,snatch a DVD player and the disc playing inside from’ - . _ the library escaped facing, any charges due to a lack of evidence. c Police were. unable to prove culpability i in the case . and the items were not recovered, said Terrace RCMP. ~ Const. Rochelle Patenaude. * - * - Chief librarian Ed Curell said i insurance c helped the. . library replace the DVD player. © The DVD player was positioned: inside a ‘cut-out: hole on.a Kermode. bear statue created by local. art-.° ist Joe Mandur and showed a movie about-Kermode ° bears. It’s one of the Spirit Bear in the City statues be- _ - ing used to raise money for the B.C. Lions Society. Curell said it’s believed that one man removed the "DVD player while the other stood in a doorway block- ing the front desk clerk’s view last December. | Crew member evicted - due to. pornography — A CREW member. ‘ofa “ship: in the Prince Rupert | "harbour found to’ be carrying pornographic material - has-been refused entry into Canada. « ‘ The 38-year-old man was taken into custody | where « he plead guilty to one count of possession of. child por-: nography, was sentenced to time served. and: returned to the vessel. ‘On Feb. 3, while conducting’ a ‘routine inspection. ‘of a ship in the Prince Rupert harbour, Canada Border’: - Services Agency officers discovered.a box"of: porno- » "graphic material containing 120 CDs, of which three” depicted child pornography. _ The discs and their owner were: turned over to. RCMP who found 19,500. pornographic i images on the 2 discs, some’ of children. Oe Undeér:'the Immigratiori'and' "Refugee! Protection’ Act, foreign nationals convicted of serious offences. are deemed inadmissible into Canada. | So hay . ‘BED, BATH, KITCHEN, LEATHER CLOTHING, ACRES _ FIRST NATION’S GIFTS AND SOUVENIRS . : ALL REGULAR PRICED. MERCHANDISE _ Excluding Selected Collectables And Electricals WE WOULD. - RATHER — SELL IT THAN. COUNT IT!