When the Youth HUB begins its regular weekday hours in Eugene on Monday, young people will have a new place to spend time after school, make something, ask about a job, or work out what comes next. The free drop-in space, at 44 W. Seventh Avenue, is for people ages 14 to 24. Its opening day is Sept. 28, following a Saturday celebration that gave visitors a first look inside.
The HUB is a collaboration among Connected Lane County, Ophelia’s Place and A Family for Every Child. Connected Lane County describes it as a place to find support, explore opportunities and simply be yourself. The organization’s list of offerings includes free snacks and other basic needs, job-search help, college and career exploration, showers and laundry, social connection, time to relax, STEM equipment and arts and crafts. It also lists mental-health support on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
That menu combines activities in the space with help connecting to other resources. Lookout Eugene-Springfield reported that the HUB is designed to help young people navigate services and partner organizations; the list should not be read as a promise that one team directly provides every service. The idea is to have a welcoming place to arrive first, where staff can help a young person find an appropriate next step.
The public got an early look at the space during the grand-opening celebration on Saturday, Sept. 26. Connected Lane County advertised the event for 4 p.m., with food, activities and music. A Lookout reporter who attended observed people making bracelets and other crafts, playing checkers and Scrabble, using computers, and looking through shelves stocked with ramen and canned food. Those details offer a glimpse of how the room can work: practical help sits alongside ordinary ways to spend an afternoon.
The regular schedule is designed around after-school hours. Lookout reported that the HUB plans to welcome young people Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. The website describes the drop-in space as free and open to ages 14 through 24. The weekday window gives eligible visitors a place to stop after school or work, whether they want to relax, make something, or ask staff for help connecting with a resource.
Young adults also had a role in shaping the project. Lookout reported that youth advisers Nicolle Marroquin-Leon and Kyra Haas, both 19, offered input as the partners developed the space. Their participation is a practical part of the HUB’s design: the people expected to use it had a voice in how it would feel and what would be useful there.
The official page invites young people to relax, recharge or hang out, and also lists STEM equipment, arts and crafts, school and career exploration. A young person may arrive simply to spend time there or to ask about a next step; both uses fit the drop-in description Connected Lane County provides.
Lookout reported that Ophelia’s Place planned to send a team of four, including two clinicians, on Thursdays. Connected Lane County lists mental-health support on both Tuesdays and Thursdays, so visitors can check with the HUB about which partner or service is available on a particular day. This is one example of how the organizations’ partnership can make different kinds of support easier to find from a shared starting point.
Connected Lane County says the Youth HUB was made possible through an investment from Grace Serbu and the John Serbu Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation, along with support from partners and community members. The organization describes that support as a commitment to giving young people opportunities to thrive. Its public page presents the HUB as one way to bring resources and caring adults together in the community.
For families, educators and neighbors, the HUB offers a concrete destination to share with a young person looking for a place to connect or plan a next step. The partners list opening day as Monday, Sept. 28, and Lookout reported weekday drop-in hours of 3 to 6 p.m. at 44 W. Seventh Avenue. Young people ages 14 to 24 can find current details through Connected Lane County’s Youth HUB page before visiting.
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