The Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School (MVRHS) school committee unanimously approved the concept for a new building to house the recently formed Island-wide Youth Collaborative (IWYC) on the Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) campus Monday night.
The IWYC was created in August 2013 in response to a sharp increase in the demand for youth-oriented mental health services on the Island, and the lack of resources to handle it, Community Services executive director Julie Fay told the school committee.
Ms. Fay said that MVCS currently does not have space to house the program and would like to build a 2,400-square-foot modular building, estimated to cost $600,000, that would contain offices, a large group space, and a community kitchen.
Since MVCS leases its site from MVRHS, Ms. Fay said she was asking the school committee to approve the building concept, which would allow the IWYC to move forward with seeking capital donations. She said she would return to ask the school committee’s approval again once a final project assessment is complete.
The IWYC is comprised of members from MVCS, the Martha’s Vineyard public schools, the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital, the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA, the Martha’s Vineyard Youth Task Force, and private practitioners. The organization was awarded a grant of up to $300,000 a year, for two years of programming, on October 1 from the Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation.
The IWYC program will provide a variety of services for children, adolescents, and young adults from ages 9 to 26, with mental health and substance abuse issues, as well as their parents.