Youth needn't be 'Bored in Castlegar'

by Contributor on 10 Feb 2010
in

Teens - We want your input!


Are you a youth between the ages of 13 and 19? Are you sometimes feeling bored around Castlegar? In fact, there is a lot to do or be a part of in our area, but sometimes it is hard to find out about these wonderful things. And that is why we want to help you. How do you ask? A website. Simple. Perhaps. But only with your help.

On Feb. 16, there will be two sessions held by the website designer to get input from youth on this youth-based website. One session will be held at Stanley Humphries Secondary at 3 p.m. until 4 p.m. and, if you cannot attend that one, another between 5 p.m. until 6 p.m. at Freedom Quest Regional Youth Services.

In the fall of 2008, funding through the B.C. Healthy Living Alliance saw a group of dedicated folks in our community, including youth, show up for a community meeting that identified some very import concerns around youth. The funding allowed the team to identify how to address these items and seek to begin to resolve them. To find out more about the five key concern-areas identified, please contact Kathryn Kimmerly, Kootenay Family Place, with the contact information listed below.

The result, after some discussion, was a website, designed by and for youth. The goal; for all service providers to be able to post their combined information in one easy to navigate site that alerts youth of all the events, programs and groups they can be involved in. Like a community bulletin board, they can even post their own art, poetry and news items.

And this is where we need you. Mark your calendar, bring your website groovy ideas, and we will provide the pizza for your valued input. For more information please contact Kathryn Kimmerly, Kootenay Family Place, 250-304-9019 or Veronique Lalumiere, Freedom Quest Regional Youth Services, 250-304-2676 and visit the facebook page at “Bored in Castlegar”.

Comments

Youth needn't be 'Bored in Castlegar'

by rgkbc on 11 Feb 2010 at about 14:00.
This is a wonderful Project both for Youth AND the entire Community. I have had the privilege of working with some of the Young People involved and their very committed Support Workers and Advocates in Castlegar & District for nearly a year now as this Project has germinated and taken hold. There is lots of concern & talk around town. especailly at City Hall, about the 'viability' and 'sustainability' of our Community. Will there be a future for our Community or not? It is not too flippant to repeat that 'Youth are the Future of the Community'. We bemoan the fact that we ship raw logs out of the area to be processed elsewhere. Well let's consider the millions of dollars we pump into Youth programs through Schools, Recreation Facilities, Social Support Agencies, Churches, Clubs, Sport & Cultural Associations ... only to then turn around and 'ship' the finished product ... our next generation ... off to uncertain futures in Alberta Oil Fields, or west, to the sidewalks of downtown Vancouver. Our goal should be to help engage young people into the lively fabric of our Community. Sure, they will always want to 'fly' and 'test their wings' ...but then they need to know that there is wonderful Community right here where they are more than welcome & able, to return and raise their own children. I believe that this Project, which seeks to 'Engage Youth in the Community... and the Community in its Youth' is part of that process and deserves your full support ...Youth & those who believe in our Youth! Raymond Koehler 619 - 9th Avenue, Castlegar, BC V1N 1M5 250.304.2157