Community Corner

Who's Who: Ryan Overbay, Enumclaw Youth Center Director

An avid runner and health and fitness enthusiast, this leader and mentor aims to show youth that there's a better way to 'get high.'

Ryan Overbay wears three hats at : he is the Client Services Coordinator, Director of the Youth Center and Director of the Village Tutors program.

You are not a native of Enumclaw. 

No. I'm from Mossyrock, Wash., which is about an hour and 40 minutes south of here. It's a small little town, about 500 people. 

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So what brought you to Enumclaw?

I worked at a coal mine for about nine years in Centralia and when the coal mine finished up -- they closed up -- I was looking at finishing up my teaching degree. We had family that lived up here, and they said, 'come up to Enumclaw. They have Green River (Community College) that's close by. It's a good place to bring the family and start over.'

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The state had a dislocated workers program and so it gave us two years of schooling and a year on unemployment so we moved up here. I started going after my teaching certificate and during that time, I needed a part-time job. And the Youth Center was open. So I filled that and then as time went on, I finished the two-year AA program at Green River and then things just kept happening here.

I really like the dynamics and the kids that came through here. I thought I had a lot more to offer these kids here at Enumclaw Youth and Family than I might have had at a public school. And now I'm the client services person and I also run the Youth Center and Village Tutors -- I do that in the evenings. So now it's held me here and I kind of put teaching on the back burner.

When you were studying toward your teaching credentials, what/who had you envisioned teaching?

I loved history and middle-school-aged kids. 

What's the age range of the kids that come through the Youth Center?

They're anywhere from 8 to their 19th birthday. Most of the kids we see here are between 13  and 17.

And what do they come to the Youth Center for?

Mainly it's the computers and Xbox and pool tables. Those are the three main attractions here. And for a lot of kids it's just a place to kick back. We have a lot of comfy couches and stuff and they just want to kick back. They want to just relax and especially with the weather we've had over the winter, it was pretty rainy and there's nowhere to go. Here's a nice dry spot. We always have snacks or some kind of food and so it's pretty relaxing place to hang out for four hours.

What is your role, from their perspective?

Well this is the way I like to look at it: I am a friend but a mentor. I like looking at myself as a mentor -- someone who's leading the good life by an example. I'm all about health and fitness and there are a lot of kids that are smoking or are doing extra activities as far as drugs go. I'm trying to show them there's another way to get high and that's working out, eating right and doing good things. Helping out your community.

What we've shown helping out with the food bank or helping out the senior citizens or going around picking up garbage up here is that there's another way of getting high. And we reclaim that words 'getting high.' It's not with drugs. It's with what's already inside all of us. It's kind of a mentorship here with the kids. So I'm a friend but then again, I'm at a little higher level than that.

How many kids come through the Center in a given week?

It can change depending on the weather but on average it's between 20 and 25 kids. We've had as many as up to 60 kids come in here in one day.

Is there a reason that you know of for the spikes?

You just never know. The better weather sometimes -- kids will come here before going somewhere else, and you'll see a huge influx. It's hard to predict with kids and how it works.

Most kids come hang out after school, but do you see youths as well who may no longer be in school for one reason or another?

Absolutely -- those kids are waiting for the doors to open. They're waiting outside in the alley.

How long have you been here at this position?

It'll be three years this summer.

Over the course of these three years, have you seen an upward trend of more of these kids who don't have a place to go? Or has it been steady?

You see a little bit of that. There's probably 3 or 4 at a time. It's not so much increasing but we do have a few all the time.

And for them, the Youth Center provides some extra support?

Right. We're like 'here are some other options.' We help kids. Some of these kids don't know how to fill out an application to get their GED. They say, 'well, I don't know...I heard it costs money.' And we'll be like, 'well I don't know either -- let's find out.'

We can make those calls from here, or maybe they need an assessment to get back into school. Drug assessments. I can filter that up front and we can do drug assessments here. Risk assessments -- they got in a fight. 'Well I feel back for what I did but I don't think I'll ever get back into school.'

Well, they probably just want you to do a risk assessment. Then you can get back in. We can do that. So coming through here, it's not just me in my mentorship but I can work with my fellow staff members and things can happen through here. A lot happens -- it can go on to counseling and all that.

You spoke of wanting to serve as a health and fitness role model. How have the kids responded to that? You recently took a group up to a local race call the .

We had about seven of us that went up to the Mud Mountain Melee race and we had about the same number last year. So we've done it two years now as far as the running goes. We don't expect everyone to love it like I do but at least they get to experience it and maybe it might be something in the future they could use as a tool -- for depression, for anxiety or maybe just to relax themselves.

Running's a great tool to find that inner strength -- that tool that you do have inside. What we've found was there's always a couple of kids that want to keep doing it, and so if we can reach 1 out of 7 or 10, that's great.

And we've also worked through  with Jean (Hoiland) and they've given us a couple of free classes and continued to encourage us to send kids down to them. And we're hoping to build on that too because we found we took a few 15 to 18-year-olds down there not thinking they'd want to do it again, and it turns out they loved it. They're boys. 'Whatever, that's for women.'

No, you gotta try this. This is not easy. It opened them up -- this isn't some chick thing. This could be for me. Look what it did for me. I feel relaxed and calm. Maybe I don't need to smoke. Maybe I don't need to go fight.

Same with gardening. We took some kids to the gardening club and we cleaned up the Foothills Trail and some of the kids really enjoyed that. It was kind of meditative

Anytime we can get outside. And that's the whole thing: no kid left inside. That's the program we need to have and get everybody out. I think we can do that through here. 

Going off on a tangent here but it seems most of the youths that you work with are boys.

I would say yeah -- it's probably 98 percent boys right now that come into the Youth Center. It's changed over the years. I heard that it used to be fairly balanced maybe 10 years ago. Just last month, I had five new girls come in here and sign up for the Youth Center -- that's just giving a name and an emergency contact number. I don't know -- maybe it's starting to change a little bit. Maybe they're starting to feel a little more welcome here. We're trying to do more things because in a boy-dominated area, it's hard to come in here. You've gotta be pretty brave to come in here. But we're starting to see a little bit of difference -- at least three to four girls come in here a day. Once in a while there's seven compared to 20 boys or so.

It once was more balanced?

That's what I was told by Gary (Hemminger), our director. Then again, it was an older female who was running the show here. Maybe that had something to do with it. They felt more comfortable with her being here. But I'm starting to notice more females are coming it. That's a good thing. I hope it balances out -- I actually hope they over take the boys. That would be neat for the dynamics in here.

What are the Center's hours?

If they stay through Youth Center and Village Tutors, it's 8 p.m. [closing time]. So there's adult supervision from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. 

We're not a babysitting service. Kids can come and go as they like, but when they're here, I definitely have tabs on them. I'm going out in the alley and checking on what's going on out there. 

Outside of running and small outings and service projects you already spoke of, what other activities does the Youth Center provide?

In the summer we have a program called Snaps which is where we have field trips for things like hiking, swimming and Mariners games. It's kind of an inside the Youth Center type deal. We take kids out that sign up. We try to keep it fairly local with hikes, but we do go to some water parks. We ask the Mariners for tickets. They've always been great -- they usually give us 15 tickets.

It doesn't cost anything?

No, there are no fees for the kids.

You're taking the kids to a run in June?

Yeah -- June 18 to the Booking It 5K out in Lakewood at the Fort Steilacoom run. That's going to be good. (Editor's Note: This run is organized by 14-year-old Shay Glackin-Coley of Tacoma, who won the Mud Mountain Melee 8K. The race aims to raise funds for educational scholarships in Lesotho, Africa.)

I've read Shay's story and I understand it's like the fifth one with his dad that they've put on since he was like 10 -- that just blows me away. Hopefully I'd like to hear from Shay and tell our kids a little bit that these things are possible. We can make a big difference. 

That's what I want the whole community to understand about the youth here too. This is an incredible resource -- the youth -- we can do so many things. The Youth Center is not within these walls. We can get out and that's what we want to do. Take what we have here and just get into the community. We can help. We can do things. We can show so much more than 'that's the youth center,' you know? 

Do you feel you're fighting a preconceived idea of the Youth Center -- or the kids that come to the center?

I do hear that -- 'how are those kids at the Youth Center?'

You do hear that. It is something you're always going against. These aren't all bad kids. Kids being bad -- sure, there are a few kids that come in here and they're in trouble but this is a great place to come if you are to get advice and get help.

But yeah, you're fighting that. We're trying to raise the expectations of the Youth Center. I want our goal here to be like, 'hey, let's give the Youth Center a call. They'd be glad to come help this lady with her yard work.'

That's what we're trying to do with this generation united between us and the Senior Center. They reached out to us and did that . And now we're trying to figure out maybe we can get five or six kids to reach back and maybe there might be a few people over there that have overgrown lawns and stuff like that. We can give back and help out. That's what I want us to be known for. The Boy Scouts have a great reputation for managing trails and helping out around the community. It'd be nice to have the Youth Center have that and be looked at the same. 

So if someone has a project that might fit well with your kids, they should just contact you at Enumclaw Youth and Family Services?

Yes. It's just a matter of hopefully I can raise the bodies. You know, it's voluntary. I can't gaurantee it. They're kids. 'Well, I don't know if I want to wake up.' You don't know if they're going to get up that Saturday. You gotta raise the army when something happens but most of the time we get kids that show up.

There's a lot of opportunity for kids to do more, and they can do that through the Youth Center.

What's your perspective on how engaged the Enumclaw community is with the Youth Center?

From what I've seen from this community, it's a really giving community. We have a lot of people in this community that help with Enumclaw Youth and Family, especially the Youth Center. And between the Senior Center and Highpoint Village helping us with food and snacks for the kids, the community's great. 

So you're sticking around Enumclaw for a while?

I love Mossyrock. It's my hometown -- always will be and there are incredible people there too, but I love Enumclaw. I think Enumclaw's a great town. It has everything we need.

What's the next race you're training for?

The big one with Plateau Running Club -- we have a race in Cle Elum and that's June 25; that's in the mountains in Cle Elem and that's a 25K. It's going to be around 16 to 17 miles.

Later on in September I'm getting ready to go down to the McKenzie River Run in Oregon  and that's a 50 K -- around 30-31 miles, so I'm getting ready for that with the Plateau Running Club too.

And then I try to schedule little 5Ks and maybe some 10Ks with the kids, and the whole thing is one day maybe having a kid that will run one of these ultra runs. 

Do you have a favorite run?

I've been on some really beautiful runs up in the mountains -- up at Echo Lake and around Mount Rainier. But my favorite run was running with the kids from the Youth Center -- especially this last one (Mud Mountain Melee) when it was raining and just seeing it on their faces. It wasn't warm. It was raining and kind of miserable but they had fun. They actually liked it. And that was fun  just running with them.

I wasn't running for my personal best time. I was runing with them at their level. That was the fun and that wasn't easy for me to do. I wanted to be selfish and I wanted to take off but those are my funnest runs -- running with other people, especially youth.


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