Overcrowded youth drop-in centre turned away from federal property program

HILLSBOROUGH, N.B. – The Boys and Girls Club in the village of Hillsborough may soon be forced to turn kids away.

The club’s community drop-in program for youth has outgrown its current space and badly needs a larger building. The not-for-profit club was hoping to buy the village’s vacant RCMP station under a program that disposes of surplus federally owned property.

But they’re not having much luck.

So the club’s executive director Lynda Carey may be forced to turn away some kids away.

“Oh, we are beyond capacity I would say we have so many kids that come,” she said.

Last year, Carey launched a free, not-for-profit drop-in program for youth in the small village of only 1,300.

Village councilor Jeff Jonah said the club has had a very positive impact on the community’s youth.

“The biggest thing we found last summer is we had really no vandalism problems in the village and that’s the first time in a number of years,” he said.

The program has been so successful, the club has already outgrown its space and may have to start turning kids way.

“Unfortunately, it just have not come to a good end at this point for us,” said Carey.

Carey has been trying to get approval to move into this former RCMP station that has sat empty in the village for the past few years.

Under a program called the Surplus Federal Real Property for Homelessness Initiative, the federal building can be sold to a non-profit organization for one dollar. But only if its programs contribute to the prevention and reduction of homelessness.

Carey was told this week their club could not even apply.

“We do have issues in the village but homelessness is definitely not one of them,” said Jonah.

“Instead of just waiting for the problem to happen let’s work together to keep the problem from becoming one,” said Carey.

“Should the Boys and Girls Club, or any other community organization, submit a summary proposal that demonstrates how its use of the property will help prevent or alleviate homelessness, the department would be prepared to consider it and ask that a formal application be submitted,” said Marie-France Faucher, spokesperson for Employment and Social Development Canada, in an email to Global News.

But Carey is not convinced their offer to also work with the club to prevent future homelessness is genuine.

“I would love to be in the position to say that I was wrong about this and they they really and truly want to work with us in what we had said we wanted to do which was to prevent any issues that were going to cause kids in the community to make bad choices,” she said.

But she’s not giving up and will reapply for the sake of the kids.