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The Odyssey Archive: From Parking Lots to Perry Street
- Jack Breckheimer - OYM Intern
- Apr 13, 2022
- 3 min read
While the heart of Odyssey has always been its members and participants, these people needed a place to meet. Odyssey’s physical location and spaces have changed a great deal over the years; but throughout these changes, Odyssey has been a safe space for LGBTQ+ youth to thrive.
Odyssey began in 1992 as an outreach program of the Spokane County Health District, initially targeting queer youth under 25. The first meeting of the group was held on June 21st, 1992 in a spare room at the Red Cross, separated from a CPR class by a small panel. Founder Dawn Spellman began advertising the youth group in the local queer news publication, Stonewall News.
![A Letter Thanking the YWCA. Dated October 14th, 1994. Letter Text: Dear [YWCA], As the facilitator for Odyssey Youth Group I want to thank the YWCA for allowing us to meet in the Stier Lounge, free of charge, sicne November 1992. Some exciting things are happening to us as a youth group. We have been fortuante enough to acquire some funds that, starting October 15, 1994, will allow us to rent our own space for a drop in center for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Becuase of this ascquisition, we will no longer be needing meeting space at the YWCA. Having a space to meet once a week for the past two years has been a great asset for Odyssey. Thanks Again! - Dawn Spellman. [end of letter text].](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e7ef40_8dd127817ec64b7788447e5c2b3fbc06~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_375,h_250,al_c,q_30,blur_30/e7ef40_8dd127817ec64b7788447e5c2b3fbc06~mv2.jpg)
![A Letter Thanking the YWCA. Dated October 14th, 1994. Letter Text: Dear [YWCA], As the facilitator for Odyssey Youth Group I want to thank the YWCA for allowing us to meet in the Stier Lounge, free of charge, sicne November 1992. Some exciting things are happening to us as a youth group. We have been fortuante enough to acquire some funds that, starting October 15, 1994, will allow us to rent our own space for a drop in center for gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Becuase of this ascquisition, we will no longer be needing meeting space at the YWCA. Having a space to meet once a week for the past two years has been a great asset for Odyssey. Thanks Again! - Dawn Spellman. [end of letter text].](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e7ef40_8dd127817ec64b7788447e5c2b3fbc06~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_830,h_553,al_c,q_90/e7ef40_8dd127817ec64b7788447e5c2b3fbc06~mv2.jpg)
Soon after this, Odyssey began utilizing a free space at the old YWCA location on West Broadway Avenue. A year after its founding, Odyssey would already have 42 participants…and, as such, had outgrown the YWCA. Thanks to a grant from the Pride Foundation received through the Spokane AIDS Network, Odyssey was able to open its own drop-in center starting October 15th, 1994.
This space, located next to a Hamer’s clothing store on North Washington Street, opened up a lot of opportunities for Odyssey youth. Among the first items acquired for the drop-in space were “mismatched furniture,” (The Spokesman-Review’s words, not ours), a 27” TV and VCR, a used pool table, and a collection of queer literature for Odyssey’s library. Odyssey youth made the most of the alleyway entrance to their drop-in center.
The location was kept confidential from the public out of safety concerns. Youth who heard about the center had to be screened before being allowed to know the “secret location” of Odyssey. For nearly 12 years this location served Odyssey’s needs. But when told their lease would not be renewed in 2006, Odyssey’s Board and staff got to work finding a new home for drop-in.
The solution came in the form of a triplex in Spokane’s South Perry neighborhood. The building, built in the 1950s, was renovated inside and out to accommodate the needs of the drop-in center. Walls were taken down and a deck put up. After a brief transition period, Odyssey opened the doors of the new location on April 25th, 2006. As part of the move, the Odyssey Board voted to become an “out” organization, making the center’s address publicly available. Within a year, the official signage was installed, proudly displaying Odyssey's place in the South Perry community.
![A clip from the OYM Newsletter Spring 2006. The purple "Odyssey Youth Center News" logo sits at the top of the page. There are two images, one of the S. Perry OYM Center's exterior before remodeling and architectual drawing of the exterior remodel plans showing the deck and upper-level entrance. [Image text] Relocation complete – and we’re ‘OUT’! Odyssey youth no longer need to enter their center through a back door off an alley. The organization moved out of the old Washington Street facility at the end of March and is settling into a remodeled triplex at the corner of Perry St. and 12th Ave., thanks in large measure to the generosity of building owners Jennifer Helmuth, Kelly Lerner and Deborah McCandless (who do business as One World Design Architecture). Architect Kelly Lerner has redesigned the nondescript 1950s triplex (above) into what will eventually be a 2500 sf ‘home’ for Odyssey Youth Center at 1121 S. Perry St. (drawing, left). Staff set up offices as the remodel progressed in April. Youth programming resumed April 25. The final phase of the project is expected to be undertaken in September. A committee hastily explored six prospective properties in the Logan, North Central, Perry and West Central neighborhoods. Rate comparisons and site features determined the clear winner. And the women from One World… (IN & OUT continued on page 5) [end of visible in image].](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e7ef40_63ada0778a3748aebbd9535034e667ec~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_645,h_250,fp_0.50_0.50,blur_30/e7ef40_63ada0778a3748aebbd9535034e667ec~mv2.png)
![A clip from the OYM Newsletter Spring 2006. The purple "Odyssey Youth Center News" logo sits at the top of the page. There are two images, one of the S. Perry OYM Center's exterior before remodeling and architectual drawing of the exterior remodel plans showing the deck and upper-level entrance. [Image text] Relocation complete – and we’re ‘OUT’! Odyssey youth no longer need to enter their center through a back door off an alley. The organization moved out of the old Washington Street facility at the end of March and is settling into a remodeled triplex at the corner of Perry St. and 12th Ave., thanks in large measure to the generosity of building owners Jennifer Helmuth, Kelly Lerner and Deborah McCandless (who do business as One World Design Architecture). Architect Kelly Lerner has redesigned the nondescript 1950s triplex (above) into what will eventually be a 2500 sf ‘home’ for Odyssey Youth Center at 1121 S. Perry St. (drawing, left). Staff set up offices as the remodel progressed in April. Youth programming resumed April 25. The final phase of the project is expected to be undertaken in September. A committee hastily explored six prospective properties in the Logan, North Central, Perry and West Central neighborhoods. Rate comparisons and site features determined the clear winner. And the women from One World… (IN & OUT continued on page 5) [end of visible in image].](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/e7ef40_63ada0778a3748aebbd9535034e667ec~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_380,fp_0.50_0.50/e7ef40_63ada0778a3748aebbd9535034e667ec~mv2.png)
In August of 2007, the center hosted four Spokane mayoral candidates. In 2009, Odyssey held an open house for the community as part of that year’s Pride celebrations. 2022 will mark not only Odyssey’s 30th anniversary, but the South Perry drop-in center’s 16th birthday. Old enough to get a driver’s license!
While Odyssey temporarily shuttered and limited in-person drop-in due to Covid-19, the center is now back open 4 days a week! With this welcome change, we are reminded of the importance of Odyssey’s physical space; a space where queer youth can feel safe, comfortable, connected, and grow with the help of dedicated mentors. Odyssey’s physical space has changed a lot in the past 30 years and we’re excited to see what it will look like in another 30!
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