New Auburn clubhouse, relocated gym want to 'break barriers'
AUBURN — Two formerly vacant buildings have been given new life to help community members.
The Cayuga County Clubhouse, a nonprofit in the former JB's Wall Street Grill, and Combat Recovery, a gym now located in part of the former KeyBank at 115 Genesee St., held open houses Saturday.
'A safe place'
Clubhouse cofounder Christie Salmon-Blaisdell told The Citizen it provides a safe place where children can make friends, play games, watch TV, do their homework and more.
The clubhouse also provides families with assistance in areas like mental health, addiction and homelessness. Salmon-Blaisdell is a certified peer advocate, as are cofounders Brad Salmon, her husband, and their friend Randy Smith. Salmon and Salmon-Blaisdell are active at local recovery nonprofit Nick's Ride 4 Friends, where Smith started Combat Recovery .
That makes the clubhouse a destination for everyone, Salmon-Blaisdell said Saturday as people chatted over snacks and played board games. Older children in Auburn need that in particular, she added.
"I'm actually really excited. Because a lot of people have talked about it for a long time, to have more places for people, so it feels great to be able to provide that," she said.
Salmon-Blaisdell believes the peer advocacy services at the clubhouse could "help break barriers in families' lives." She will be running her wellness business, Infinity Healing & Instruction , there as well. She hopes to secure funding for additional programs like children's yoga.
Kenny LaFramboise, who also works at Nick's Ride, and his 13-year-old son Jayden were at the open house. LaFramboise said the clubhouse is close to the homes of some of Jayden's friends, making it a place they could go.
"It's a safe place for kids to hang out, and I know there's going to be supervision," LaFramboise said. "It's definitely a drug-free, violence-free area."
'All walks of life'
Many of the people at the clubhouse attended the open house at Combat Recovery earlier in the day.
The gym operated out of the basement of Nick's Ride until moving to its new location, now called The Atrium on Genesee , Oct. 1. The gym is also located in the basement of the former bank. As members of the gym trained in pairs, Smith told The Citizen he likes the "dungeon feel" the space provides.
Smith said the gym currently has about 40 members and noted that two of them, his 19-year-old son Nate and Haylee Swan, competed in the International Sport Karate Association Championships in Austria last month. Smith praised Nate and Swan, and said seeing them compete against professional fighters was "surreal."
In recovery for addiction himself, Smith said the gym helps people form bonds and provides an outlet for them, whether they're in recovery or not. It also has a youth program, he added, with scholarships and a sliding scale fee so no one is turned away.
"We have all walks of life here," Smith said.
Children at the clubhouse will be awarded scholarships covering classes and equipment at the gym, Smith said. He hopes members go to the new nonprofit, and vice versa.
"They complement each other," Smith said. "It's a revolving door."
Salmon, who is also in recovery, is one of the students at the gym and has trained with Smith in recent years. Boxing changed Salmon's life, he said, "physically, mentally and emotionally." Just as putting on gloves has impacted him, Salmon hopes the gym and the clubhouse will be beneficial for others.
"There's a connection (at the gym) and we're trying to build a family connection down at a clubhouse with the youth," he said.
Staff writer Kelly Rocheleau can be reached at (315) 282-2243 or . Love
Education, court and crime reporter
