Township to sign youth centre lease
Clearview Township is opening a youth centre in Stayner.
Council agreed March 21 to sign a lease at a commercial plaza located at 7458 Highway 26, in the vicinity of Reinhart’s and the Stayner Medical Centre.
The plan is simply to provide a facility, said youth services committee chair Barry Burton, where agencies can offer youth services.
Council has agreed to a three-year lease at $2,000 per month plus hydro and heating, estimated at $100 per month. The township is leasing two units, totalling 2,500 square feet.
In the most recent budget, council set aside $100,000 for the creation of a space to offer youth services. The lease, over the next three years, will cost an estimated $77,890, leaving just over $22,000 for other expenses.
Burton reported it was the best location as it met budget targets and needed fewer upgrades to meet accessibility standards.
Now that the lease agreement is approved, the youth services committee will connect with partners and volunteer organizations. The goal is to provide a safe location for a drop-in centre where youth can meet on a social level and have positive interaction with their peers, get guidance and mentorship along with mental health counselling.
“We want to open it wide open to as many youth services as we can,” said Burton.
He said Big Brothers and Big Sisters and The Door (Youth for Christ) are ready to proceed and the township is also working with the United Way. All three agencies have representatives on the committee.
“We are very excited about it,” said Mary Thomas of the United Way. “We are very impressed with how things are rolling along.
She said the United Way is in the process of applying for additional funds, in collaboration with other agencies.
“We are very excited about the progress,” said The Door executive director Jennifer Gerrior. “We are ready to go whenever you are with programming to serve our youth.”
Burton assured council that a report would be forthcoming once plans are hashed out.
Councillor Robert Walker said the hope is that agencies will contribute financially, that they will get all the agencies together and come up with a financial plan that will sustain the facility.
When asked how they would measure the success of the youth centre, Burton said that is yet to be seen.
“How do we measure success? By the numbers? By the number, that we don’t know about, who don’t commit suicide?”
The new youth centre will be located within the same plaza where The Door was located before it moved its meeting to a church in Stayner.
(Google image)
