New home for centre

The Cornwall Youth Centre will start back up in September

The Cornwall Youth Centre will have a new home starting in September.

A resolution was passed at the Cornwall town council’s July meeting in favour of entering a lease agreement with the West River United Church.

The youth centre was previously located at East Wiltshire Intermediate School, but that was only a temporary location.

The program, which sees upwards of 30 kids a night, will be held at least three days a week at West River United Church.

Cornwall Coun. Jill MacIsaac said the town has been seeking a central location and is thrilled to have found such a great space in the community for its youth.

“It’s just becoming more and more popular,” said MacIsaac. “I think when it is centrally located it will be a lot easier for kids to access that location in the community.”

The program will have different things going on like youth talks and movie nights.

Snacks and Wi-Fi will also be available.

The Cornwall Youth Centre was actually an initiative brought in when MacIsaac became the chair for parks and recreation two years ago.

MacIsaac, who has two daughters of her own, including a teenager, said she saw a need for a youth centre in the community.

“I saw a lot of kids walking around the community that just didn’t have a real place to go and hang out,” said MacIsaac. “I felt like they needed a place to safely spend time with friends and socialize.”

MacIsaac hopes to hire a social worker or youth worker to run the program at West River United Church.

“I believe that we need somebody who can also address different issues the teens are having,” said MacIsaac.

“We need somebody who is educated who knows how to respond properly to certain situations.”

MacIsaac said the initiative would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of Kim Menier, manager of parks and recreation, and the support of mayor and council.

The program will start up sometime in the first three weeks of September and will continue school year round.

MacIsaac said she always welcomes feedback from youth and hopes to eventually expand it to include a summer program as it continues to grow.

“We always welcome more information from youth as to how we can help them facilitate a healthy environment where they can socialize and hang out and be kids.”

For more information, visit www.cornwallpe.ca.

“I saw a lot of kids walking around the community that just didn’t have a real place to go and hang out. I felt like they needed a place to safely spend time with friends and socialize.” Cornwall Coun. Jill MacIsaac