Youthful energy at the youth centre

The Soukka youth centre sees many visitors, and it is no wonder. The place is filled with activity and a relaxed atmosphere.

On Friday evening, people begin to show up at the Soukka youth centre. There are usually about 50 young people there, the majority of whom are boys.

During the day, it is the younger children’s turn, while evenings are reserved for those over the age of 13. Amidst the lively chatter, you can pick out at least Finnish, Estonian, Russian and Arabic.

Some of the young people hug the youth workers when they arrive:

“How’s it going,” they call out.

As soon as you step in, you can check the youth centre’s rules. They state that energy drinks, intoxicants, tobacco products and rowdy behaviour are forbidden. Appropriate language, on the other hand, is allowed.

Soukka’s young people are pampered with perhaps Espoo’s largest premises, about 400 square metres. The youth centre is highly versatile: you can play pool and ping-pong as well as football and basketball in the large gymnasium.

The gym equipment and punching bags came from the Tapiola swimming pool, which is awaiting renovation. For gaming enthusiasts, there are 11 gaming computers available, all of which are in use on Friday evenings.

One of the youth centre’s regulars is 14-year-old Elmo, who has been visiting the youth centre for five years now.

“I originally got into playing pool, and I’ve attended the youth centres’ Finnish championship tournament in Tampere. Our team has won the entire tournament twice,” he says.

A role model for many young people is Casper Matikainen, a Finnish and European pool champion. He began to play when he was 10 years old, specifically at the Soukka youth centre.

13-year-old Niko, in turn, found his way to the youth centre by following in his older brother’s footsteps about three years ago. He visits the centre some evenings to play pool or ping-pong or just to hang out.

“The best part is the diversity of activities here. It’s also fun that the staff play with us. We’re all friends here and we encourage each other,” Niko says.

Elmo enjoys spending time at the youth centre throughout its opening hours and makes good use of all its activities, apart from board games. They are too slow-paced for this man of action.

“I play football and ping-pong and go to the gym. I like all kinds of activities. I’ve also participated in the centre’s overnight activities and camps at Kattilajärvi,” he says.

Overnight youth centre activities are organised during holidays, with young people sleeping on mattresses or the couches, playing hide-and-seek in the dark or doing other requested activities, and cooking together.

At the Kattilajärvi camps, on the other hand, cell phones are forgotten and, instead, the focus is on swimming, sauna and grilling sausages together. Canoeing or winter swimming are also popular.

Currently, young people are particularly excited about the Work Pilots app, which enables gig work. With an hourly pay of EUR 10, the youth centre has also offered young people jobs such as putting together furniture.

Future jobs include at least cleaning the computer keyboards and repairing the gym equipment. For these tasks, the young people are rewarded not only with money but also in the form of praise for a job well done.

Read more about youth centres in Espoo.

Text: Marjo Tiirikka

This article has originally been published in the Espoo Magazine 1/2024.
Read other articles in the Espoo Magazine.