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Wednesday, January 31, 2007 · Page 6 Area youth centres struggling to stay afloat BY DANIEL SCHWAB While the Harrow Youth Centre has struck a partnership with the Town of Essex that may result in financial support from council, the Essex Youth Centre remains in "dire straits." Sandy Larivee, executive director of the EYC, said the centre is operating on a dayto-day basis and struggling to meet its payroll. With bingo revenues at an all-time low, Larivee says the local service is "in real trouble." The EYC is short staffed and hasn't had the time or resources to fundraise, she added. As a result, much of its programming has been cut. As a board member of Town Youth Participation Strategies, a support group for youth centres across Ontario, Larivee has been lobbying the province for more funding for staffing. TYPS sent a letter to the Ministry of Children and Youth Services in October asking that each of Ontario's 100 rural youth centres receive $60,000 annually. "It's an issue of getting core funding to provide centres with administrators," she said. "Then they can access grants and be financially accountable. I'd love to find a grant writer but we can't get the funding to hire that person. It's a Catch-22." Aside from a small contract staff mostly made up of students, Larivee says she is running the EYC by herself. The site attached to Essex District High School opened in 1999 and has since been providing a variety of services including a high school transition program for Grade 8 students and a weekly visit from a social worker from the Windsor Teen Health Centre. Youth Centre is facing similar funding cuts but a promise from council to meet with representatives of the Youth and Family Resource Network of Essex County has given members some hope. Council agreed Jan. 22 to meet with representatives of the YFRN, which runs centres in Cottam, Kingsville and Harrow, in an effort to find funding for the cashstrapped service. "We got exactly what we were looking for ­ a partnership," said Michelle Weglarz, acting executive director of the YFRN after a presentation to council. Weglarz said funding cuts have reduced staff members from 22 to nine at the three youth centres. As well, programs offered at the sites have been cut in half. The YFRN is struggling to accommodate a huge increase in clientele, which has skyrocketed from about 200 users in 2002 to more than 700 in 2005. "If we don't receive help for funding we won't be able to keep our programs open," Weglarz told council, adding that it costs $15,000 per year to keep the Harrow building open. She asked that the HYC become the primary receiver for funding allotted by council for services in Harrow. Last year, council put $22,500 into related services in the area. Programs offered at the HYC, including those for anger management, aiding Sandy Larivee, executive director of the Essex Youth Centre, says a troubled bingo industry and a lack of provincial funding has the service in danger of shutting down. In the south end of the municipality, the Harrow Youth Centre has secured a partnership with Essex council in an effort to find more funding for the service. Larivee said she met with council three years ago but was unsuccessful in securing any sustainable funding. "They basically told us we weren't poor enough," she said. "My frustration is, there aren't a lot of things for kids in the county. They are devastated that this place may close. They need this place." Larivee says whether or not the EYC will be able to remain open will depend on whether the bingo industry rallies. Harrow Youth Centre given hope In the south end of the municipality, the Harrow the homeless and substance abuse counseling, drew support from representatives of both the Essex Police Service and the Harrow school system during Weglarz's presentation. "The (HYC) is a huge crime prevention tool for Harrow and the south end of the municipality," said police Sgt. Gary Gamberta. "Police investigate youth crime every week in this municipality. In the criminal system, kids could get sentenced to seek anger management or substance abuse counseling. The HYC is set up to provide services ahead of time and prevent crimes." Mary Catherine Langlois, principal of Harrow Sr. School, called the services offered at the HYC "a solution in the community I was proud to be a part of." "The programs are above and beyond what the school offers," she said. "I think it's a travesty we're here asking for money. The program is so vital to our kids." Coun. Paul Innes called programming at the HYC "vital to the growth of our youth." Weglarz said she also visited service clubs in Harrow asking them to add the HYC to their budgets. About $5,800 was raised this year for the centre, with $4,500 of that to be committed annually. She said the YFRN's Kingsville site receives funding from the United Way, but the HYC does not.