South Side teen cafe set to reopen in February; youth group plans Feb. 10 march to council meeting

Melanie and other members of the Reading Youth Commission heard plans to reopen a South Side teen cafe and a request for recruitment and event support during the commission’s virtual meeting.

Organizer Radera said the new teen cafe will open at 535 Canal Street — behind the old Canal Street Pub and adjacent to the new skate park — and will operate on Fridays and Saturdays after school until about 9:30 p.m. "It's going to be open for right now, just Fridays and Saturdays. We're looking at, from after school until approximately 09:30," Radera said. She said the space will accept donations to keep operations running and that organizers are seeking furniture donations and help hosting events co-led by young people.

The commission’s communications discussion included a student-led initiative, Gen Peace. Avery, a senior at Reading High School, described plans for a community march scheduled for Feb. 10, timed to coincide with a City Council meeting, and a poster-making event on Feb. 9. "We were going to go to talk to council then and have young people's voices heard on current issues within our city," Avery said. She added that the group hopes to push for protections for immigrant residents and more safe spaces for LGBTQ youth; Avery said making Reading a sanctuary city was a long-term goal but acknowledged the group’s leaders view it as constrained by the local housing crisis.

Noel Acosta III, communications coordinator for the City of Reading, told the commission he located an older recruitment video and offered to help produce a new recruitment video and social-media campaign. Acosta said he can update the youth commission web page, create a QR code and post coordinated graphics on the city’s Facebook and Instagram accounts to increase outreach.

Commission members discussed recruitment and reorganization. The meeting opened without a full quorum (members said four were present and five were required), and members agreed to defer formal officer elections until a later date when more members can attend. The commission set its next meeting for March 5 at 5 p.m. and plans to use the group chat and the city outreach to recruit additional members ahead of the reorganization.

Clarifying details discussed included the cafe’s temporary schedule (Fridays and Saturdays after school until about 9:30 p.m.), the cafe’s funding model (donation-based sales of drinks and snacks and small grant applications), an anticipated need for furniture and volunteer support, and the student march’s route (from Reading High School to City Park, then to the main library and the council meeting). Radera said organizers are applying for small grants to support programming such as baking classes and peer support groups.

The commission approved the previous meeting’s summary by voice vote during the call. Members noted the limited attendance and agreed to follow up in the group chat to secure quorum for the next meeting.

The commission and city staff agreed to follow up on three tasks: finalize the youth commission web page and recruitment video, assist with promotion of the teen cafe and Gen Peace events, and pursue additional volunteers for the commission’s reorganization and event staffing. The commission will reconvene March 5 to continue recruitment and to hold the annual officer reorganization when a quorum is available.