Halifax councillors will consider funding a pilot project to create a multi-service, multi-agency collaborative youth centre in Lower Sackville‘s Acadia Centre.
“I find it extremely exciting,” Jay Roy, owner of Cape & Cowl Comics, said on Thursday.
His store, located a short walk down Sackville Drive from the proposed centre, has its own youth drop-in centre. He said there is a demand for the proposed centre.
“We’ve got the library, we’ve got my store, the local McDonald’s, and the movie theatre, and that’s about it,” Roy said.
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A staff report on the project was presented to councillors on the Community Planning and Economic Development Standing Committee in the morning.
The centre, next to a community food garden, would be located on the lower level. The rest of the building is used by a customer service centre and a library.
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The youth centre would cost $75,000 to operate, including a one-time cost of $35,000 for building improvements.
“We have many, many agencies throughout the municipality that are focused on youth. However, in some cases, we need to be able to have a place for youth to go to achieve and to realize all the services that are available,” District 15 Coun. Steve Craig said.
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He’s been working on trying to get a youth centre in the community for years, he added.
Councillors voted to move the project along for consideration by Halifax Regional Council, which Craig said he expects to happen at the end of March.
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