‘Youth lives will be changed right here’ | New youth center coming to Charles Street in Rockford

• More photos below: See other images and renderings of the future center at the bottom of this story.

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Stateline Youth for Christ broke ground on Monday on a new youth center it hopes will spark change in the lives of thousands of teens through empowering activities, programs and mentorships.

The faith-based nonprofit is creating a 22,000-square-foot center at 2501 Charles St., which is located between East High School and Lincoln Middle School, across from Stockholm Inn.

The “strategic dream location,” as the nonprofit’s executive director Haddon Anderson described it, puts Youth for Christ in the heart of an area where it can reach thousands of youth without the need to worry about transportation issues that can be a barrier to participation. It will welcome any youth who walk through its doors.

Inside, there will be recreational space for video games, table tennis or relaxing with a book. The second phase of construction, at the corner of Charles and 21st Street, will add a basketball court. There are also programs designed to help youth develop healthy social and emotional skills.

“Certainly there’s going to be a lot of fun happening here,” Anderson said. “But more importantly it’s going to be a place where we’re going to be empowering them on multiple levels. Introducing them to God’s love for them, and also offering different social-emotional health programs. … There will be a lot of different offerings that kids can participate in and everyone’s welcome to come.”

J.R. Flannigan, a staff member with City Life Support, which is a part of Stateline Youth for Christ, envisions a future where teens are learning everything from how to change a tire to the culinary arts. Or, they could be enjoying some downtime by reading books or playing basketball.

“We truly believe that when you love youth, when you listen to youth and when you allow youth to learn life skills, which will be taking place within this building, you’ll be able to see it change Rockford like never before,” Flannigan said. “This day is amazing because youth lives will be changed right here in this place.”

The center is designed by Rockford-based 1919 Architects and it’s being built by Ringland-Johnson Construction.

The nonprofit is renovating part of a former warehouse for the roughly $3 million first phase of the project, which is expected to wrap up in mid-summer and open in time for the next school year. The second phase, which adds the basketball court, is on the corner lot where a former office building had been demolished. There’s no set schedule for the completion of phase two. The cost is paid through donations to the nonprofit.

Youth for Christ works to reach young people across the city to connect them with adult mentors and offer creative programs designed to support them mentally, emotionally and spiritually. It has reach-out ministries at the Juvenile Detention Center and in multiple local schools, including its Campus Life program in Loves Park which provides a weekly club meetup and after school lounge for Harlem High School and middle school students.

“Youth for Christ is in our juvenile detention center, it’s at our schools and now we’ll have this center,” Mayor Tom McNamara said. “It will be providing mentorship and leadership and instilling strong values in our youth, providing them more hope and opportunities.”

During a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Youth for Christ passed out foam bricks with the word “pray” on them, encouraging supporters to keep the center and its mission in their prayers. After digging ceremonial gold shovels into the dirt, the several dozen in attendance broke into small prayer circles.

“Success to us is over the long haul and seeing lives truly changed,” Anderson said. “We, first and foremost, want to see kids transformed by God’s love for them. We believe that’s going to lead toward changed life within their families and within their communities, that they’re going to become the change agents within our city.”

Support | Stateline Youth For Christ

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Learn more: statelineyfc.org

This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas