‘They want to be here’: Saskatoon youth-led arts group moving forward after break-in

Chokecherry Studios, a youth-led art space that sits on the border of Riversdale and Pleasant Hill. (Dan Shingoose / CTV News)

Executive director Andrea Cessna says she showed up at Chokecherry Studios last week to find the door unlocked. Upstairs, a door was kicked in and more than $10,000 in equipment was stolen.

Cessna says the timing of the break-in was difficult for the organization, which provides arts and social programming for youth from 11 to 29-years-old.

“Like a lot of nonprofit organizations. We’re waiting for funding results. It's the beginning of the new fiscal year. And so a lot of that funding hasn't arrived yet, or those results haven't been announced,” she said.

The organization released a letter on Friday calling for help from the community, and Cessna says the response has been positive, but the situation really underscores challenges faced by organizations across the country.

There are so many youths with complex needs who are left behind by the social system, and organizations trying to help often struggle to find core funding from governments that are more interested in funding police than grassroots organizations, she says.

“We've seen local businesses and other community-based organizations, you know, reach out and say, Hey, we can make a donation we want to support,” said Cessna. “And so we're really hopeful that this momentum that we've built can bring more attention to the barriers that organizations like Chokecherry are experiencing across Canada.”

She says Chokecherry has managed to grow over the years by piecing together donations and finding grants to run specific programs, but it’s currently in a bid with Indigenous Services Canada to land funding for its core operations. This would be life-changing for the Chokecherry team, says Cessna.

About 40 to 60 youth per night use the studio, with about 350 young people in total who rely on it regularly, according to Cessna.

Delano Kennedy, who manages the programs at Chokecherry Studios, says when he sees the room packed every night, he knows they’re doing something right.

“A couple of days ago, I had this moment,” he said. He says he looked in the art studio and the lounge, and it was full — one group making hip-hop, another painting and drawing.

“It really dawned on me that, you know, this place was needed because it shows me that the youth, they want to be here. It also tells me that they're safe. They're not out there, you know, in the hood.”

The son of a teacher who spent his childhood moving through different communities as his father followed different jobs, Kennedy says it taught him not to be judgmental.

“Working with people; meeting people where they're at, especially with youth.”

Chokecherry Studios is accepting donations through its website or on Patreon.