Miriam sets up a meeting place to keep Zaan youth on the right track

It’s not easy to get hold of Miriam this Friday night for a quiet talk. The power has gone out in the old school building at 196 Wandelweg in Wormerveer and the initiator of the Next Level Chill Academy is walking back and forth. In between talking to young people, she explains to the electrician who has rushed over where she thinks the problem is. And she is gone again, to take a closer look in another room.

They are Zaan youths aged 12 to 18 who have come together at the initiative of Miriam de Boer to meet peers. Miriam noticed that there was a need for this among young people. “We could go anywhere when we were 16 to. You were allowed to go to the disco and the community centers. Nowadays that is either on the street or at someone’s home. But when the groups get bigger and there is no supervision, they sometimes do very strange things.”

Volunteer Donna Kloeze is there every Friday evening. She adds: “When you go to secondary school, you are no longer that little child at home, but you start leading a more independent life. Then you no longer want to sit on the couch with your parents, but you do want to sitting on a bench that is safe and dry.”

Safe place

Students from Miriam’s dance school often arrived half an hour in advance to get together. Four years ago, the idea of ​​a youth meeting place arose in Miriam’s head. A place where alcohol and drug use are not allowed and young people can come together in a safe way. The corona pandemic ensured that the project got off the ground faster.

Wormerveer district manager Monica Briefjes saw the potential of the idea and was a driving force from there, Miriam praises her. “She is someone of ‘don’t talk but brush’. Without her we wouldn’t have been on the Wandelweg.”

The ultimate goal of this place? Donna: “Zkeep it off the street. And too make them find other things more interesting than booze, drugs or to smoke.”

She continues: “There is in Satanstad quite a problem with knife use from a young age. Schools where there are many incidents, where there is supervision with security. We do want to be that cozy and friendly place here. We are not so much there for problem young people, but for all young people, precisely to prevent problems in this vulnerable age.”

The initiative The Next Level Chill Academy has now been active for almost 1.5 years. Started in the old Meneba factory and now in the old school building on the Wandelweg. Young people can go there for free for homework assistance or just to chill. You can play darts, table tennis and play games together. Youth workers are regularly present with whom any problems can be discussed.

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“I think this is the third time I’ve been here,” says 17-year-old Mickael. He feels so comfortable that he has his friends make him up as a clown. “It’s really fun… last time I also arm wrestled with one of the volunteers. I almost won!”

13-year-old Kaan says that this place feels safe. He has also not been here often, but if he is invited he will certainly go more often. “I think it’s a nice place, also because they do it here voluntarily. There is free food and drink. I think it’s special that they do that.”

Long-term

Miriam cannot say whether her initiative really helps to keep young people on the right path. You have to look at the long term for that, she says. The influence of her initiative alone is also too small, according to Miriam. “This must be at least twenty places in the Zaan region. For example, it would be nice if sports clubs want to cooperate in alcohol-free areas and fun chill-out areas for young people. Not every young person needs this. My goal is to have 300 familiar faces here by the summer.”

Pride

They don’t really speak up, but it’s clear that Miriam and Donna are proud of what’s happening here. Donna: “You know that it works and that you offer the right place because young people come back. In that sense it works. Whether it also helps to eventually let them make different choices; you won’t know that until much later. But we do everything we can to promote that.”

Miriam is convinced that she can continue to do this for a long time in addition to her dance school. “Will I still be walking around here in ten years? If I am alive and well, I will.”