GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — While some parents perceive video games as a waste of time, a father-son duo in Grand Rapids is proving there's purpose to gaming.
NxtGen Gaming Center aims to provide an educational and fun space for the community, for those who love to game like Tashaun Williams.
“What I love about gaming personally is ... I just love to, like, be in the game,” Tashaun said.
Gaming offers Tashaun an outlet for his real-life challenges, including depression and social anxiety. He shared, “It kind of gets me away from anything, like, any problems that I have and all that type of stuff.”
Explaining how gaming helps him manage his emotions that come from the real world, he says, “It's how I vent my stress, how I vent my emotions and stuff like that. ... This is how I gain the control over my entire emotional self.”
Inspired by his experiences, the Williams family created the NxtGen Gaming Center, designed to be a safe space for community members.
Anthony Williams expressed the mission behind the center. “Being able to create a space where they can come in. A lot of people might not be able to afford video games, you know, top-level, next-gen game, PC gaming, but always have a passion, or got it on your Christmas list, and we created a space where they can come in and treat it like it's theirs.”
The vision for this center originated from Tashaun’s goal-setting initiative more than two years ago. He explained, “Vision board on my wall where I had my goal and what I wanted to do and how that was gonna impact me.”
The Williams family partnered with the Hope Gain Network of West Michigan, a nonprofit organization focused on empowering youth and adults facing mental health challenges. Sheri Munsell, executive director of Hope Gain Network, stated, “When you're talking about gaming, there also are a lot of mental health challenges that come with just being at home and continuously gaming and not doing anything else. This gives them the opportunity to actually interact with other people.”
Along with a $15,000 grant from the Urban League of West Michigan, the vision for the gaming center came closer to reality.
“We’re gonna have about three Xboxes, three PlayStations set up, retro games, almost 20,000 old retro games," Tashaun said. " We're going to have Mario Kart and all that type of stuff.”
The center aims to provide a positive environment for kids and teens, such as George, who shared, “This space is basically for, like, kids to come do what they want to do game. Just make sure they're not doing what they’re not supposed to do, out of the streets, doing bad things.”
And Tashaun couldn't be happier for the center's start: “God put me here for a reason. God put me here for a good purpose. And I want to spread positivity and I want to make sure everybody is good.”
The duo looks to bring workshops that will help teach the youth about streaming, videography, gaming and more as they look to continue spreading support for the community.
The grand opening for the NxtGen Gaming Center is set for Saturday, Feb. 8th. The Williams family hopes to engage youth groups and teams from throughout the area, promoting gaming as a positive outlet for all.
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