PORT TOWNSEND — Years before she became its executive director, the Boiler Room saved Amy Smith’s life, she said.
“After I graduated from high school 13 years ago, I moved to Seattle and started taking methamphetamine,” Smith said in an address to the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce on Monday.
She said she was living on the streets, “when someone told me that I should go to Port Townsend and visit the Boiler Room at 711 Water St.
“I got on the ferry and transferred to the bus and fell asleep.
“When I woke up, I had no idea where I was, but when I went to the Boiler Room, I was given food and an opportunity that I did not expect.”
Like many youths at the Boiler Room, Smith began as a volunteer but worked her way up to board member.She was named executive director last year.
Now 20 years old, the Boiler Room has provided a local destination for kids to go, whether they are troubled and drug-addicted or just want a positive place to hang out.
“There is a perception that a lot of bad kids, the kind who wreak havoc downtown, hang out at the Boiler Room,” Smith said.
“The fact is that these kids are the kind that you want working for you, they make good employees.”
A new volunteer at the Boiler Room starts by working at the counter, learning customer service, etiquette, cashier skills and food handling techniques (the Boiler Room helps kids get their food handler’s permit
which allows them to work in restaurants).
Smith said that 55 volunteers put in 7,000 volunteer hours in 2012. Some of those volunteers are the children of people who volunteered as teenagers.
Quoting former board member Mary Hilts, Smith said that a lot of the kids come to the Boiler Room with rough edges and then are polished to the point where they are ready for the world.
Smith said the Boiler Room model has been borrowed by other organizations and is in use in such diverse places as Issaquah and Virginia.
While the Boiler Room welcomes direct contributions, Smith said the best way to support the venture is to stop into the facility, buy a cup of coffee and talk to the kids behind the counter “about who they are and how they got there.”
Feeding the community also is part of the program. with 2,187 free meals served in 2012, Smith said.
An anniversary barbecue is scheduled for 3 p.m. June 21 at the Boiler Room.
About 35 people attended the chamber meeting and sometimes interrupting Smith for clarifications, which she welcomed.
“I’m used to talking to a roomful of teenagers who are all full of coffee,” Smith said.
“You guys are just sitting there, and it’s making me a little nervous, so I’m grateful for the interruption.”
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
