By Anne Gelhaus
Over the next couple months, the Outhouse will present programs designed to help students make decisions about their futures.
Working with director Jill Kent, the teen center's board of directors and teen council have set up free tours of area colleges, as well as workshops on topics suggested by the Outhouse's regular clientele.
"I don't know what's interesting to them," Kent said, "so I want to hear what they have to say. I bring [programming] up at board meetings and talk to the teens who come in on a regular basis. I think the tours are going to be really successful."
On March 11, students will board a bus to Cal-State Monterey and the University of California at Santa Cruz, where they'll receive guided tours of the campuses. An April 20 tour is slated to cover San Francisco State University, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of San Francisco.
Closer to home, a workshop titled "Gangs Now" was set for Feb. 20 at the Outhouse with Los Gatos Police Det. Carlos Torres.
"He'll talk about the cultural impact of gangs: How they evolved and where they're going," Kent said prior to the workshop.
A March 4 workshop on date rape will also cover issues such as self-esteem and empowerment. YMCA counselor Jennifer Niklaus will lead the workshop.
Kent said she's trying to schedule workshops on self-defense, AIDS awareness and hepatitis for students.
To spread the word about the teen center's new programs, Kent and her student assistant, Jennifer Kaine, are producing a newsletter that Los Gatos High School's PTSA will mail with its own newsletter.
Community Against Substance Abuse has also offered the teen center a column in its newsletter, and CASA has requested that the Outhouse be open late March 9 to give teens a place to go after the group's annual Gym Jam.
"It makes it even more exciting when people are behind you and are supporting what you're trying to accomplish," Kent said.
In addition to the new programs, the Outhouse is continuing its concert series showcasing local rock bands. The next concert is set for March 1; the $4 cover charge will go toward buying a new pool table for the teen center.
Kent said she surveyed teens who attended a Feb. 3 concert at the Outhouse and found that there were more people there from San Jose than from Los Gatos. The average age of the audience was 16.
On a more typical day, Kent said, when the Outhouse is open for after-school use, the areas that get the most use are the pool table and the computer room, which houses three Macs and three PCs. Kent said an average of 30 students use the teen center on a daily basis.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, February 21, 1996.
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