Happy Valley-Goose Bay youth centre a reality

A longanticipated youth centre in Happy Valley-Goose Bay is just weeks away from opening.

"It's honestly probably one of the best things that's going to be happening in our community,"said 16-year-old JamesEarle, a member of Youth Supports Collective.

The centre,located onGrenfellStreet, adjacent to the Labrador Friendship Centre,contains a lounge area, a large open space with a kitchenette, three offices, washrooms, and storage space.

Committeemembershave deliberately refrained fromdecorating the space or moving in furniture and equipment because they want youth to decide what the centre will looklike and what services should be available.

"Right now it's going to be sort of bare bones until we get youth in there. We want them to make the space their own," said Denise Cole, who remembers talk of having a youth centre when she was a teenager.

"The walls will be bare because we want youth to create the art work that will go in there, and we're hoping that also that they're going to name the youth centre. There's no name on this centre they'll be the ones who get to be the ones to do that."

'We need more somebodies'

The new centre was kickstarted with $65,000 that was raised by LabradorGrenfellHealth several years ago and members of the committeesay they hope different community agencies would be willing to contribute and offer support to the centre.

The committee also says itneeds volunteers to help staff the centre efficiently.

"In this community we're hearing it all that time, that our young people need a place to go, that somebody needs to do something forthe youth that are here, so this was really thecommunity, and agencies, and young people involved who said 'Ok, we're going to be thosesomebodieswe're going to make this happen' ...but we need moresomebodies," said Cole.

Though no exact date has been set, committee members hope the centre will open in September.