Ringwood teenagers want their own space
By Newshound007 | Thursday, October 14, 2010, 00:14
Young people in Ringwood have said they need a place to call their own after teenagers deserted Greyfriars Activity Centre for being “too multi-purpose”.
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Teenagers in Ringwood want a dedicated youth centre
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Teenagers in Ringwood want a dedicated youth centre including a coffee bar
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Teenagers in Ringwood want a dedicated youth centre including a big movie screen
Only four youngsters turned up to the last session. One Hampshire county youth worker admitted the current venue is “horrible in winter” and said teenagers desperately wanted a venue for themselves.
Alex Martin, one of the students at Ringwood Sixth Form, said: “It is important a youth club is created with its own building. Young people do not want a multi-use facility. When we enter a building we can feel it is multi-purpose. We need a dedicated space of our own.”
Teens have said they would love to have somewhere to watch movies on a big screen, relax in a coffee bar and practice and perform amateur dramatics.
Their plea comes as youth workers fear funding cuts will lead to colleagues being axed. Only one full time and one part time youth worker work in Ringwood at the moment.
Hampshire County Council’s executive lead member for children’s services, the Tory councillor Roy Perry, has said that the authority has to balance its resources against where they are needed most.
He added: “We do have to ensure our staff are working in areas where they will reach young people who need their support and advice. I would therefore encourage young people to make greater use of the club to ensure its long term viability and to take advantage of the information, support and advice our workers can provide.”
You can read more about this story in the local paper.
Comments
It's true, I think both parties are shrugging off responsibility. The state is in an awful way, which is it's own fault and is having a huge impact on everyone at the moment, particularly in regard to state funding; but there's this mentality among young people that the things they want should be served up for them too. There are plenty of adults who would support fund raising schemes etc for a new youth centre, and although it would be practically impossible for them to raise all the momey, it would certainly help and make a gesture to the Council that they mean business and aren't just layabouts wanting a free place to waste time. Young people get such bad press and this could be a good way to make a point, if they used the opportunity correctly.
By CharlotteMine at 14:33 on 26/10/10
ReportMaybe the young people could show their commitment by raising money themselves. It might only be a small amount but at least it would show they are fired up to do something about it. I get fed up with hearing about kids moaning that there's nothing to do and when are 'they' going to do something about it,
By FlatStanley at 19:39 on 25/10/10
ReportThey should have their own building. Why should they have to share? The council should get a move on.
By McAngry at 10:40 on 25/10/10
ReportFor decades it's been a problem: teenagers have nowhere to go. They're not children any more, but nor are they allowed into adult spaces like pubs and clubs. i think the answer lies with the county council finding more youth workers to help them out. But will there be any funding under the coalition government?
By Buymyhouse at 21:47 on 14/10/10
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