Livening up the Mammoth after school scene
DJ Chris Villalpando and some Clubhouse Live students.
Mono County Behavioral Health afterschool program Clubhouse Live hosted an unusual sort of party at Underground Lounge recently. There was no alcohol at this party; Underground General Manager Tommy Smith personally removed all liquor, beer and wine from the bar preceding the event. The clientele wasn’t the usual blend of Mammoth and SoCal twenty- to thirty-somethings, either; instead the bar and dance floor were crowded with Mammoth Middle and High School students holding plates of pizza and non-alcoholic beverages, bobbing their heads or breaking it down to beats supplied by a rotation of local DJs.
Clubhouse Live, a non-profit program provided by Mono County Behavioral Health and AOD (Alcohol and Other Drug Program) and funded by Prop 63, aims to create fun, safe afterschool activities for Mammoth Middle and High School youth.
“Clubhouse Live is meant to get youth involved in making positive changes in their community,” said Clubhouse Live Coordinator Sal Montanez. “Right now our emphasis is on anti-bullying, and bringing awareness to the community of the lack of afterschool activities for middle school and high school students not involved in sports.”
Clubhouse Live is also a pilot program for Friday Night Live, a California state youth development and drug prevention program “that works to empower young people by allowing them to have a voice in combating issues that are important to them and their respective communities,” Montanez said. All activities and projects are conceptualized, planned and executed by youth-participants.
One of the main issues Clubhouse Live seeks to combat is that lack of afterschool options, which has a negative effect on Mammoth students, Montanez said. “In a town where there are no open container laws and ridiculous amounts of alcohol vendors, a medical marijuana dispensary and easily accessed street drugs, giving our youth a place to hang out and be free from these pressures, and possibly prevent them from participating in any of these risky behaviors, is a great benefit not only to our kids, but to our community and its future,” he said.
Mono County Drug and Alcohol Counselor Rich Bonneau agreed. “Walk around the room and ask what there is to do here, and they’ll tell you, there’s nothing to do but party,” he said. “It’s really important to have alternatives.”
When asked what there is to do in Mammoth after school, Clubhouse Live participant Jonathan Rivas answered, “Nothing much.” Anything and everything would be better, he said. “It would be nice if there were more activities to do after school,” Mammoth Middle School students Francisco Hernandez, Omar Prieto, Pedro Imperial, and “Chicken” Vargas concurred. All said they were having fun at the Underground event; “there’s pizza,” they said.
While the event was intended to raise awareness of the dearth of after school activities, and to help the current 12-15 students involved in the Clubhouse Live program reach out to other interested students, it was also a means to promote anti-bullying.
Carri Coudek, founder of Inyo County’s Happy Hoods, participated at the invitation of Montanez. Happy Hoods, a 1-year old program based out of Bishop, was inspired by the idea of transforming a skull and crossbones hoodie Coudek saw in Mammoth into a more positive symbol for kids. “When designing the ‘Happy Hood’ I thought, Happy Hoods don’t bully,” she said. Now anyone who purchases a Happy Hood must take the pledge “to be kind, considerate and thoughtful to others, and not to bully,” she said.
Happy Hoods has since expanded to establish anti-bullying events such as an art contest last year in which children were asked to draw what they thought could stop bullying, as well as to support non-profits like the Bardini Foundation, and create partnerships with other youth-centered programs like Where Everybody Belongs (WEB) and PeaceBuilders.
“I wondered what the reception at the Bishop Middle School and High School would be,” Coudek said. “It’s all been positive.”
Coudek’s hope is that one day she’ll see Happy Hoods on skateboarders at the Volcom Brothers skatepark, or on skiers and snowboarders at Mammoth Mountain. “I’ve been meaning to come up to Mammoth for a year now,” she said. “Expanding into Mono County will happen in its own time.”
Coudek delivered a presentation between DJ sets at Wednesday’s event, explaining the aim of Happy Hoods, and asking those assembled to take the Happy Hoods pledge. She followed the pledge with an opportunity for students to tell their own stories about bullying, and many did so, shyly and at times angrily, to the support of the crowd.
Montanez concluded the presentation with a reminder to attendees: “You’re kids, and you’re supposed to have fun,” he said. The kids were happy to oblige, dancing enthusiastically to a set by 15-year old local DJ Chris Villalpando. His father Andres stood proudly by. “Chris has almost perfect grades,” he said. “I’m very proud of him. That’s why I bought the [DJ] equipment for him; to keep him out of trouble, and in the right direction.” With the help of programs like Clubhouse Live, more Mammoth youth may have the same opportunity.
