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Community Recreation Foundation awarded $50,000 to plan youth "third spaces" in Casper
Summary
A $50,000 Collective Health Trust planning grant awarded to the Community Recreation Foundation will fund a youth advisory council, a youth accessibility action plan and a consultant-led feasibility study to evaluate city spaces as youth "third spaces." City and youth leaders outlined a timeline to complete planning by the end of the fiscal year.
The Community Recreation Foundation has been awarded a $50,000 planning grant from the Collective Health Trust to help Casper identify and plan "third spaces" for youth, a city recreation staff member told the council.
The grant will support three interconnected components, the presenter said: a youth advisory council that will drive the work; a youth accessibility action plan to evaluate city facilities for youth use; and a consultant-led feasibility study based on the council's input. "The $50,000 grant given by the Collective Health Trust is gonna support 3 interconnected components," the presenter said.
Why it matters: city and nonprofit leaders said the work aims to create safe, inclusive, non‑school spaces where young people can gather, learn and access programs. The feasibility study is intended to produce the information needed to apply for implementation funding in later years.
What was announced: the presenter introduced the project team: Stu Yap of the Community Recreation Foundation; Lyric Wall, recreation coordinator; and Mariah Spearman, recreation supervisor. Youth members named included CJ Severson (chair, 18, NCHS student), Sadie Wendling (Casper Classical Academy) and Cassandra Ward (middle school student). Councilors and staff described the youth advisory group as ages roughly 12–18.
Timeline and next steps: staff said the youth advisory council will tour city facilities and draft an accessibility action plan over the next couple months; the foundation expects a feasibility study to be complete by the end of the city's fiscal year so it can seek implementation grants. Foundation staff said they expect to pursue further funding in years two and three, estimating follow‑on awards at about $100,000 apiece if the planning work demonstrates success.
Outreach and partnerships: presenters said they will coordinate outreach with the Youth Empowerment Council, student councils, the YMCA and the youth mental health collective to broaden participation and surface ideas from students who are not currently engaged with recreation programs. Presenters noted a challenge: many school‑based groups already have meeting space, so outreach will focus on youth who lack other regular gathering places.
What council said: councilors asked about the timeline and volunteer turnover among youth aging out of the council. Presenters said existing links to the Youth Empowerment Council and other partners should mitigate turnover and expedite outreach. Councilors asked staff to follow up and provide more detail in a future packet; staff agreed to coordinate with Lyric Wall and return with additional information.
The council did not take a formal vote on the grant award during the presentation; the item concluded with an agreement to receive further information and to keep the youth leadership team involved in future updates.
