The new Dryden Youth Centre has officially opened its doors.
A grand opening ceremony and a Summer kick-off Dance was held last Friday at the 113 Albert Street location.
Sarah Stevenson is the Co-Chair of the Youth Centre Advisory Committee and is the Director of Integrated Social Services with the Kenora District Services Board.
Stevenson says “It was a collective effort of multiple partners within Dryden who identified that we needed to create positive spaces for youth to be able to connect to each other and be safe and connect to their community.”
She says it’s extremely important for the KDSB to be able to dive in and be involved in youth programming and she believes this partnership will be the first of many across the district.
The Dryden Police Service is also involved in the project and Community Services Officer Denise Szachury sits as Co-Chair of the Youth Centre Advisory Committee.
Szachury says area youth were responsible for the design and layout of the new Dryden Youth Centre.
Szachury says more than 280 surveys were filled out on what teens wanted to see.
She notes they also had a day where kids could come to the facility and plan everything out.
Szachury says “It’s really important for our community to have a space where kids can go and they can interact with one another. They can feel safe. They feel like their voices have been heard in looking at this space, because it was designed for them.”
She adds developing the site shows that adults are interested in the well-being of area youth.
To hear more, visit the Audio link below.
