A Place for Teens, By Teens

Red Bank teens went looking for a place where they could hang out, a place that was not only safe, but one they could call their own. When they couldn’t find it they did the next best thing, they created their own.

Enter the Buc Room. Located on the second floor at the , the teens-only lounge is a dedicated spot complete with a Red Bank Regional High School paint theme, couches and entertainment system. It’s a place for teens, by teens.

“This was us coming together, working to say we’re going to do something together,” 17-year-old Yasin Hassenbey said. “We wanted to represent our town and at the same time be part of it too.

“We could go straight home and be lazy or be in the streets with people we shouldn’t be, but we get to be here and be proud of what we’ve done.”

The Buc Room, named for Red Bank Regional’s mascot, was the project of the Boys and Girls Club teen leadership program called the Keystone Club. The idea for the hangout was developed about six months ago and donations from the community as well as about three months hard work from the teens involved helped make it a reality.

Now, the Buc Room, located at the Drs. James Parker Boulevard center, is open to teens three nights a week.

It’s not just enough to provide area kids with a place to hangout or receive tutoring or other support services, Boys and Girls Keystone Coordinator Juan Lopez said, but you’ve got to make it clear that they have the power to create positive change in their own lives.

“Keystone gives them the chance to go out and communicate with others, to do outreach and volunteering,” Lopez said. “This gives them a chance to not only be their own person, but to find out who they really are. We give the kids the opportunity to make their own choices, to be proactive. “

On a Monday night, about a dozen or so teens, all of them high school students and most Red Bank residents, gathered in the lounge and the adjacent meeting room just to talk, to crack jokes, and laugh. In Red Bank, especially on the west side of town, you’d be hard pressed to find another suitable place for teens to do what has always been intrinsic in teens: socialize. 

In some ways, the Buc Room is also a way to strengthen relationships formed years ago.

“We all grew up here, we all went to elementary school together,” Jazmiera Smothers, 15, said. “It’s nice to have us all together. It’s not always easy to get everyone together anymore.”

In all, the Keystone Club has 20 members. The Torch Club, which is the middle school equivalent of Keystone, has about two-dozen members, Boys and Girls Marketing Director Jaclyn Boruch said. Keystone not only gives teens a chance to hang out – Lopez said there are even dances scheduled - but helps foster a since of responsibility. Teens involved with the program help plan and coordinate activities, practice their own outreach, and learn the skills necessary to succeed when it comes to taking tests and planning for college, among other things.

“These are all tools they can take into the real world,” Lopez said. “The answers to a lot of the questions these kids have are out there, but often they’re afraid to ask. Here, we try to provide those answers as well as help (these teens) grow into their own.”