LITTLE COMPTON — Eighteen months away from her driver's permit and one (flat) tire short of a bicycle, 14-year-old Christine Bender is pretty much stranded at home. Sprinkled around her bedroom are her lifelines: two cordless telephones, two remotes, one cell phone and her computer with Internet access. She's glad to start high school in Portsmouth, since that will introduce her to new people and places. And while she loves her home town, she sometimes feels that Little Compton is "boring with nothing to do."

Christine and her friend Whitney Couto, 14, were two Little Compton teens who participated in a survey prompted by staff at the Little Compton Community Center who were concerned about how infrequently youth use the community center. The center's programming director, Marjory O'Toole, learned from the study that the majority of teens growing up in Little Compton say they suffer from a lack of places to go and things to do.

Christine Bender (left) and Whitney Couto can walk to each other's houses in town and bike to South Shore Beach, but beyond that, they say there are few other places for teens to go in Little Compton.

Christine and Whitney said they would like more sports possibilities — girls' Powder Puff football for one. A movie theater and a mall somewhere in the vicinity would be nice, too.

Overall, three quarters of survey respondents (74 percent) said they want more sports of all kinds while half (56 percent) want movies and a quarter (27 percent) asked for more outdoor activities such as hiking and camping. Twenty four percent wanted more performing arts, particularly theater, music and dance. Despite differences in what the kids want, a resounding 89 percent believe that there should be more organized activities for teens in Little Compton.

When asked to identify the one thing that the town really needs, Christine, Whitney and 96 of their peers who also took the survey all said they just want a "place to hang out," like Manchester's used to be, or a skateboard park, a teen recreation center or even a room at the Little Compton Community Center designated for teens.

The survey was administered last spring by Initiatives for Human Development (IHD) under the direction of the community center. IHD developed a written survey for town youth and planned a parent focus group and a middle school focus group; a third focus group of high schoolers had to be canceled due to lack of interest.

In all, 98 young people completed the survey that was mailed out, which suggests excellent participation (approximately 60 percent of those who received surveys). Ninety percent of respondents were between the ages of 12 and 14 and in grade levels of 7-9.

Little Compton's biggest problem, the biggest number said, is that offers nothing much to do — is boring. Other responses pointed to a lack of facilities, substance abuse, transportation and the geographic isolation of the town.

Asked to identify the best part about being a teenager in town, teens focused on the close community of a small town, the town's waterfront location with beaches and having freedom.

Parents who participated in a focus group identified the same strong community assets as their children, but their list of risk factors or deficits in town was much larger. It listed an "entitlement attitude" among many youths, isolation from the rest of Rhode Island, and youths "hanging around" at home unsupervised, youths with too much time on their hands, easy access to alcohol and other drugs, a lack of anonymity and an influx of new and affluent residents. Parents also worried that young people grow up naive and sheltered until they attend high school in another town,a change that comes as a "culture shock."

Resurrect the Teen Cafe?

Some participants referred to the prior success of a Teen Cafe in the early 90s, initiated by teens with the support of a former substance abuse prevention coordinator in the town. The cafe was planned and staffed by Little Compton high school youths who attended the Rhode Island Teen Institute and made this their aproject. Parents oversaw the project and young people were provided a stipend to run it. The cafe folded when the coordinator left the position and money was no longer allocated to the effort.

All participants felt there is considerable energy in town that could be directed to resurrect the same sort of program for teens. To that end, Mrs. O'Toole submitted a strategy grant for first-year funding to the Rhode Island Foundation on Aug. 1. She hopes to know in December how much money, if any, the center could have to get the town's Teen Cafe back on track and maybe even create a full-fledged program for youth located at the community center.

A fun place to go

Seventh- and eighth-graders who participated in focus groups were asked to describe an imaginary design for a youth center within the existing Little Compton Community Center building at 34 Commons. Responses included the following suggestions:

Pick a space and paint it "fun and friendly."

Furnish the space with comfortable chairs and couches and carpets.

Have pool and ping-pong tables, a sound system, a television with no channel changing and no computers

Have art classes, movies and a variety of activities that are "kid friendly and parent approved"

Host bus trips

Allow us to come and just "hang out" some of the time

Use the kitchen as a "snack shack"

Have most of the jobs at the youth center be filled by youths

Plan volunteer and community service activities

Parents' recommendations for the youth programs at the Community Center were consistent with the youth responses. They stated that the youth programming must be "cool," envisioning a place with open mic nights, poetry slams, rap, productions, mixed media and other arts classes and "coffee house evenings." All felt that a reasonable fee for center activities would be well-received.

By Chelsea Wonacott-Mershon

chelsea@eastbaynewspapers.com