When Mariah Darling looked into the carpentry workshop at the St. John's Tools Library and saw a small group of young people learning to make wooden trays, she saw a very different San Juan than where she grew up.
"The thing is, if you're gay at St. John's, you really have to come out to be successful," says Darling, who graduated high school a decade ago.
As education coordinator for non-profit LGBTQ group Chroma NB, Darling wants to create opportunities for young people to step out of their comfort zone and thrive without leaving the city.
Friday was the last day of some of the March courses offered by the group for children and young people, although the youngest must be accompanied by a parent.
The last class is a carpentry course, with a morning course in pot making at St John's tool library.
© Graham Thompson/CBC Grade 8 Riley Smith-Bates got to use a variety of tools, including this saw.Brent Harris St. Board member John holds a workshop to teach children how to use tools such as pocket holesaws, hacksaws, and table saws.
Ultimately, he says, they'll leave with a tray and the ability to work on larger items.
"The core skills we develop are the same skills needed for any construction-related activity or project," says Harris.
This workshop is not only a way to teach youth the basics of woodworking, but is part of a bigger picture for Darling and Harris.
Darling wants to give children the opportunity to try new activities in places they support. Seeing young people taking risks, learning and growing, they find such courses useful.
"It's great to see people step out of their comfort zone or say hello to someone they've never met," they say.
Trying things that teens might be afraid to try in other situations is part of what Darling calls "brave space."
"The Courage Room is what I call a secondary safe room."
Darling says safety must be maintained at all costs, but the goal is to create a safe space with room for some risk.
Harris sees smaller classes as an important step in encouraging underrepresented groups to become more involved in the trades.
"For people of different genders, for women, there's a real sense that this industry doesn't invite or want them, and it's not a place for them," she said.
"We have people from different spectrums using this space, bringing people together, and it's breaking down the area of bigotry."
Riley Smith-Bates, an 8th grader, and Benjamin Melanson, a 6th grader, have never used a band saw, hacksaw or oscillating sander before.
They use all three until noon on Fridays.
© Graham Thompson / CBC Before going to the workshop, Benjamin Melanson, who had never used a drill or miter saw, was making a wooden tray and intended to try making bookshelves.They haven't taken classes in high school and haven't had a chance to master this skill yet.
"Probably the scariest part was the giant chainsaw," said Benjamin, who was not tall enough to reach the handle of the saw.
“I feel like I can use [woodworking] a lot. I could use it for many things."
Riley attends several Chroma pop-up workshops throughout the week and enjoys interacting with the community and learning new skills, car buff or not.
© Graham Thompson/CBC News Riley enjoyed learning to use the tools in the workshop and said it wasn't as difficult as it looked."It's my first time and I think I did really well," they said.
"It's not as scary as many people think. Yes, big cars are messy, but some are as simple as pushing a button, then putting on the goggles and you're probably good to go.”
Harris is no stranger to teaching young children the basics of carpentry and knows that large tools can be intimidating at first.
“But when they drill the first hole or make a saw cut, you can see the confidence build. So the nervousness at the back of the arm is gone,” he said.
