He couldn't find mental health support for Casper teens. So they built something no one else would

The hub is not Hollier’s first attempt at creating a safe third-space for Casper’s youth. He was the owner of a low-for-profit business called The Void, which opened in 2021. It was a “teen nightclub” but they also had other, lesser-known activities going on, too.

“A lot of what we're doing here we did with The Void, we didn't publicly say that we did, and it was kind of one of those things that kind of happened behind the scenes,“ Hollier said.

The Void closed a year later, but Hollier didn’t give up on the cause. He applied for nonprofit status the same year for The Void Outreach, which now does business as the Casper Youth Hub.

“When we closed, we knew we wanted to do something different,” Hollier said.

For many young people, there's home and there's school. What Casper largely lacks, Hollier said, is a safe third place, somewhere teens can simply exist, build friendships, learn new skills and find support without pressure. Spaces that pair healthy activities with mental health resources are few and far between.

Hollier said he was part of a youth mental health collective to explore ways to address issues in Casper’s youth. The school district was reluctant to help, he added, so he set off to create a space to provide life skills and mental health supports in one.

To build the youth hub, Hollier brought teens into the process, involving them in decisions ranging from flooring and room layouts to which space to lease.

The teens were hired as youth research fellows, and they were paid for their input.

Dexter Kost is one of those fellows.

“It's a place to go and just be you,” the 15-year-old told the Star-Tribune. “There's no, ‘Oh, I gotta make sure I unload the dishwasher.’ There's no ‘I'm worried my dad is gonna yell at me.’ There's no ‘I have to get an A.’ You just come, you hang out and you're you, and it's a really good experience.”

There are six different rooms to cater to the kids. There is a lounge with video game consoles and board games; a gaming room with various gaming consoles and a gaming PC; an audio, video and music production room with a green screen; an art room with traditional arts and fabric arts; a maker space with 3D printers and laser engraving; and a kitchen filled with snacks and drinks.

“A lot of times kids, sometimes, we're really underrepresented, so this nonprofit will help us, you know, have representation in Casper,” Kost said.

With the space nearly complete, the youth research fellows are shifting into leadership roles, Hollier said. They’re being trained on each piece of equipment and software so they can eventually teach other teens, and they’re also taking on responsibilities like staffing the check-in counter.

“There's no requirement for them to continue once the space is open,” Hollier pointed out. “However, every youth that we've talked to wants to continue and wants to do more.”

The fellows will continue to be paid for their work. The adults, on the other hand, are volunteers. Hollier said the directors have committed to three years of work for no pay. Other adults can volunteer to help out at the hub, but they must pass a rigorous background check.

Hollier said the goal at the hub is to teach classes with a three-pronged approach: a hard skill, a soft skill and a mental health skill.

“The classes that we run have kind of three-pronged [approaches]: teaches a skill, so you know embroidery; it teaches a soft skill, that could be how to make phone calls to clients, that could be how to shake a hand, look people in the eye, things like that; and it also teaches a mental health skill.”

Although designed for youth, the space is not unsupervised. At least two adult volunteers will always be on site, and a companion app allows parents to stay informed about their kids’ activities.

Parents can choose whether their children are allowed to check out mature-rated games. The app then signals to staff on the child’s account whether that permission has been granted.

Parents also see when their child is in the hub. When a youth comes into the hub, they must check-in on the app. When they leave, they have to checkout, but the building is geofenced and automatically check-outs a youth once they leave.

Parents can also opt-in to notifications for when their child enters and leaves the hub.

The youth can also use the app to request food, drinks and snacks for the kitchen.

“A little bit of kind of transparency there, just so that, you know, if kids are saying they're going to be here, parents can confirm,” Hollier said. “We're not a daycare, so kids have access to leave or come as they please, so we don't limit that, but we do want to give parents a little bit more insight into if their kids are actually here.”

The hub is open to Natrona County youth ages 11 to 20 and is free for youth and their families. Hollier said it will host a soft opening on July 13 with about 50 participants for a two- to four-week trial period before fully opening in August.