Game nights for youth

By Victoria Christie

A new Centretown organization is about to test the theory that board games like Monopoly, Scrabble and The Game of Life can do more than just liven up an evening with the family — they can also help at-risk youth.

Saving Throw will be hosting board game meet-ups for at-risk youth between the ages of 14 to 18, in the Centretown community.

The first board game event will be held on March 25 at a downtown school. The location is something the organization says it wants to keep quiet since the event is not open to the public.

Saving Throw defines at-risk youth as anyone who is likely to have trouble transitioning into adulthood for various reasons, such as mental and physical disabilities, financial pressures and bullying, to name a few.

“It’s a sad thing to say, but it covers most of high school students,” said Sean Doyle, the founder and president of Saving Throw.

He is currently recruiting youth for the program and said that, so far, the reception has been positive.

Doyle’s passion and personal experience sparked the idea back in November to start Saving Throw.

“I’m heavily invested in the board game hobby,” Doyle said. “I’ve always loved the opportunity to introduce something I love to other people.”

He said board games are a great tool to assist with mental health.

“I suffer from depression and it’s one of the few things that works that gets me completely out of my head,” Doyle said. “It’s a great distraction.”

There are many organizations in Ottawa that focus on helping at-risk youth, but Doyle said he noticed most programs were athletics-based.

“Not everybody wants to play sports,” Doyle said. “We thought we should give them another avenue where they can possibly be more comfortable.”

The organization puts an emphasis on creating safe spaces for at-risk youth through these programs.

According to Pamela Storey Baker, the clinical coordinator at the Youth Services Bureau in Ottawa, a variety of activities and spaces are key to help youth learn more about others and about themselves. Through the program Bridges, she helps youth with complex mental health needs.

“Leisure activities are an important aspect in maintaining and promoting mental health,” Storey Baker said. “It’s a key piece of maintaining a lifestyle balance.”

Board games can also help build social interaction, according to Mike Hopkins, who co-owns The Loft, a board game café in Ottawa.

“It tends to make you feel more connected with the people that you’re playing with,” Hopkins said. “We see it all the time.”

He said board games have become more popular in Ottawa in the past few years. Monopolatte, a popular board game café on Somerset Street, closed its doors last fall — but not, the owner said at the time, because business was too slow.

“We’ve certainly noticed our business increasing,” Hopkins said. “There are definitely a lot more people coming to play board games than there used to be.”

As for Doyle, he said he wants to expand Saving Throw in Ottawa, hosting multiple weekly board game nights for youth of all ages.

Then, he said, he will begin to look outside of the city’s borders.

“There’s the dreamer side that wants to be in every province in Canada,” Doyle said. “We want to grow as quickly as we can.”