Cowichan Lake youth will soon have a new youth centre to hang out at.
After months of discussions, new life was kicked into the project, Friday, May 11, during a public meeting at the Municipal Hall’s old fire bays, which is currently the most likely of the proposed locations to house the centre.
“The youth in this town want something to do,” Cowichan Lake Community Services counsellor Becca Shears said.
The targeted age group will be between the ages of 13 and 18.
“That’s the age group of people saying, hey, we need something to do,” she said.
The youth centre will be a partnership between Community Services and the Town of Lake Cowichan.
“There really is nothing to do but ‘hang out,’” co-organizer and town councillor Bob Day said, during the meeting. “Sick of hanging out at your parents’ place?”
Despite some early criticism that the youth centre is a means of keeping tabs on local teens, Day made clear that this is not the case.
“It’s not just for the party kids,” Day said. “This is for everybody. No one should feel uncomfortable in this space.”
Names will not be taken, and although there will be two adult supervisors, “They’re the easiest-going people you will ever meet,” Day said.
The possibilities for what can be done at a youth group are endless, Day said, adding that pretty well everything local youth listed on sheets of paper during the meeting are doable.
“Once we get a vision, there are people in this room that can make it happen,” Day said.
As to when the youth group will become a reality, Shears said that it will depend on the youth.
“It’s going to take some teenagers stepping up and saying ‘I want to be a part of this,’” she said.
Organizers will get the space and the materials, the youth just have to show up and take ownership of the space.
“The town is totally behind you. We just want to see the town take off,” Shears said.
For more information on the youth centre, a Facebook page has been created. Community Services can be contacted at 250-749-6822.