Building a better community

Coast Guard Magazine, Sept-Oct, 2007 by Larry Chambers

To call Station Hobucken remote is an understatement. The journey there is deep through the woods of Eastern North Carolina. The station is an outpost on the Intracoastal Waterway and the crew members are an integral part of the nearest town, Bayboro. Beyond providing search and rescue and enforcing fishery laws on the water, the crew has been looking inland. They've been working on a project that could greatly impact the future of this small community.

BM 1 Philip Robinson, executive petty officer of Station Hobucken, grew up in the area. He has seen firsthand the problems that face young people in Bayboro. Robinson and his shipmates have committed themselves to being a part of the solution. They volunteered in the construction of the Safe Harbor Youth Center in Bayboro during October of 2006.

"The drug problem in the county affects teens and younger children on a daily basis," said Robinson. "The youth center aims to curb this issue by establishing a place for young adults, teens and children to call their own, and therefore reduce their exposure to peer pressure and drug opportunities."

The youth center building was once a car dealership and required extensive changes to make it work as a youth center. The crew has averaged about 30 hours a week per person, said Robinson. They have torn down walls, removed old flooring and carpeting and helped to build new walls and floors.

The remaining shell holds new hope for the small community. "From our side, by the time a young man or young woman gets to the time in life where we have to associate with them, its hard to change them," said Lt. William Jewell of the Pamlico County Sheriff's Department. "What this youth center will do is allow the county to reach kids before they are involved in drug activity, and if they have an association with it, it can show them an alternative."

"The county in general, and the town specifically, is lacking a safe place for our youth to gather," said Paige Ackiss, mayor of Bayboro. "This offers a great opportunity for the kids to get together for positive activities. We've needed this for a long time."

As the crew works on the center, they joke with each other and have fun. In the process, they build on the strong ties the community has to the Coast Guard.

"We work with the Coast Guard on a regular basis, this being a county surrounded by water," said Jewell. "When you come by here, you see Coast Guard personnel out here working. It gives you the idea that the Coast Guard is part of the community, and it's always been that way. It's a great partnership, they're just a great help to us."

Story and photo by PA1 Larry Chambers, 5th Dist.