The place to be

With the older generation losing interest, Wabush Teen Centre is trying to draw a younger crowd.

According to Wade Coombs, Wabush Teen Centre chair, he’s seeing less and less 15-16-year-olds use the facility and is reaching out to pre-teens, 7-12 years of age, to come and discover a world of fun.

He would like them to know there’s a place they  can go where they don’t need to worry about being bullied and where they can be themselves.

He would also like their parents to know there’s a safe place for their children to go.

“Taking to people from the Labrador City’s youth centre, they’ve come up with the same problems getting things that would interest kids,” said Coombs.  “Some youths say it’s boring, there’s nothing to do.”

That’s why he’d like to give kids the choice and let them decide what they should do at the centre.

He’s also looking to avail more of the Mike Adam Recreation Complex facilities from gym to bowling to pool.

Hockey, bowling… maybe

Coombs said he’s thinking about having Friday as ball hockey night or Saturday as family bowling, in addition to organizing pre-teen dances.

He said he’s aware during the summer months the last thing kids want to do is spend their time inside, but he noted during the winter moths they usually get 20 kids on any given day.

The trend he’s seeing now, he added, is a downturn in attendance as the older generation moves on to other things and he’s has to adapt to the interests of a new generation.

So far, he said, he’s been reaching out to kids by word of mouth, but when school starts, pamphlets will be handed out and a web page might be in the works.

Drugs and alcohol problems

He said the biggest problem facing youths today is drugs and alcohol, and, from what he’s heard, youths are using at a younger and younger age.

Coombs doesn’t know why, but, he said, these things are more widely available to younger kids – more so than in the past.

He said he thinks it’s because they live in an isolated and privileged community, as well as the peer pressure factor .

The consequences of using, however, are dire.  He said that under the influence, kids can easily get into accidents on their bikes and snowmobiles, and might end up with an addiction.

Zero tolerance

There’s information available at the teen centre, he noted, as well as someone to talk to.

He added there’s zero tolerance for alcohol, smoking, and bullying at the teen centre, but kids have to realize, it’s still a cool place to be.

Without facilities like the teen centre, he fears kids-being-kids, they might be mischievous and get into unnecessary trouble.

In general, he believes, younger kids today are very rebellious and try to grow up too fast.

The downside of that, he said, is that kids don’t get to be kids anymore because they think it’s too childish.

However, he would like them to feel they can’t wait to go to the teen centre, and, he said, he needs the parents’ help.

Volunteers needed

Coombs explained the teen centre is in dire need of volunteers and assures it doesn’t take a lot of time to contribute, even one hour every month.

He said without the volunteers, they wouldn’t be able to run their programs and it’s invaluable to keep the teen centre open.