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THURSDAY

FEBRUARY 2, 2017 ®

Independent. BRIGHTON

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Council debates increasing funding for youth centre BY SARAH HYATT

Brighton – In 2016, more than 3,700 youth visits were recorded at the Beacon Youth Centre, director Rene Schmidt reports. That’s why a recent grant-in-aid request totaling $6,000, which was recently approved during council’s final budget deliberations, was so important says the director. But getting to that final consensus of $6,000 took some time, discussions among council and a presentation from Schmidt to council. The request first came to council on Dec. 7, at the first committee of the whole budget meeting when council first reviewed external budgets and grants-in-aid. “Mostly, we show an interest in the kids that come here,” said Schmidt. “We remember their names and we sit and we listen to them.” The Beacon Youth Centre, a satellite of Quinte Youth Unlimited, is run mostly through volunteers. Schmidt is the only paid employee with a stipend. The centre has more than 20 active volunteers who help with lunches and to “provide youth with a safe place to go.” That’s why the centre was created about 10 years ago – to ensure kids have a safe haven of sorts, so they can stay off the streets and to ensure some kids don’t fall by the wayside, said Schmidt. The kids who visit the centre come from all backgrounds, added the di-

Director Rene Schmidt at the Beacon Youth Centre in Brighton. Sarah Hyatt/Metroland

rector. Some may have had brushes with the law, others may have difficult home lives or don’t have a positive adult in their lives and some have completely normal home lives, said Schmidt. The youth centre is usually open Monday-Friday, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. offering kids lunch. On Tuesday and Friday evenings, the youth centre is open during the school year for youth to drop in and play pool, air hockey, board games, etc. The youth centre aims to provide a safe and fun place for kids and youth in Grade 6 and up to high school.

“Sometimes we’ll hear these are the only hot meals the kids get in a day,” said Schmidt. The number of kids who visit the youth centre in a day can range anywhere from a few, to more than 30 in a day, with the average number more in the double digits. The centre also helps youth to find work wherever possible, said Schmidt. The $6,000 grant-in-aid request will cover a bit more than one-sixth of the centre’s budget. With the number of youth visiting increasing, so do the costs, including costs for food, explained Schmidt.

That’s why Schmidt said the centre asked council to consider a $2,000 increase over last year’s request for funding. Still, there was some concern amongst some councillors the centre’s requested increase was too much, looking back to 2015 when the centre had asked for $3,000 in financial support. In December, both councillors Roger McMurray and John Martinello purposed financial support for 2017 closer to $4,000. McMurray stuck to the idea around $4,000 was more appropriate for an increase into January, though the consensus of council was to move forward with the $6,000, with members acknowledging “the amazing work done with kids” at the centre. Councillor Brian Ostrander initially refused outright to support the centre at all. His concerns were based around volunteer documents, which were essentially “anti-gay and antiabortion,” he said. At the latest January meeting, Ostrander explained he’d since met with members of the beacon and was “corrected in some of my assessments,” he said. Ostrander showed two documents at the January meeting. “First, I want the committee to know that when I was speaking of the policies I was speaking of this,” and Ostrander held up the first document.

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