The Yabra Community Development Project today received assistance from Youth for the Future. Today YFF handed over a check for $7,500 which will be used by the Yabra Community Development Project to establish a walk in center for youths at the offices in the Yabra community. Assistant Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries who's been spearheading the project says the money will go a long way at improving the services at the center while Douglas Hyde of the YFF says the objective is to have more resources available to youths.
Douglas Hyde, Youth for the Future
"Young people need a place, a positive place for them to hang out and access services that they need. Young people are crying out for more. We need to do more with more and the more make ourselves available to young people, the more we see more changes in young people. Right now we are seeing a vast amount of crime because there is less for our young people out here to do. Creating space and creating some kind of avenue for our young people will give them that opportunity to express themselves positively."
Crispin Jeffries, Assistant Commissioner of Police
"What we want to do is to create a little bit more room for children who are participating in reading classes to come in, in the evenings. We want to have night time facilities so that persons that that are unattached can come in at night and sit down and look at a television program sit in groups and talk and feel a little bit more safer. There is also a facility that will be created for a library and then another room will be created for members of the Yabra Citizen's Development Committee to meet and have a drop in center so that they can provide leaflets and information that would guide young people to employment. We plan also to look at encouraging people to come here and register in our computer program because that is an opportunity that would be given to them to find some sort of employment. We are looking at job training, skills training, intervention programs, anything to deal with young persons that are unattached or who need assistance and are a part of educational institutions. We are hoping it works because it is not taking only the building but it is taking a lot of work. There are a few police officers in the building who spend a lot of time day to day canvassing the community. The Yabra Citizen's Development Committee has met recently and has re-energized themselves. We are going through a number of other changes to make themselves a little more effective. We plan to canvass the community and invite more people to participate in what is happening. Yes it will happen. We believe that it can be successful."
Construction at the lower flat of the building is to commence within the coming weeks.
