To the editor,
As a lifelong resident of North Dartmouth, I find it extremely offensive to have my neighbourhood repeatedly referred to as "the Darkside." Like any community, we have our share of crime and violence but we also have good people who work constantly to make our neighbourhood a safer place. This article was very one-sided in portraying Dartmouth North. I agree that our community is lacking in programming for our teens, but a community is not required to provide activities in order to keep people from causing trouble.
There are several reasons why an organization may not be able to staff and run programs for every age group. Funding is always at the top of the list. These articles would have done well to talk about the various activities the Boys and Girls Club has offered. Along with sports teams, the club has offered a youth group, Keystone, designed to be operated by the youth so they can organize activities that interest them. They were able to take a trip to Ontario to spend time with other teens. They also hosted a group from Ireland for a couple of weeks. These are invaluable experiences. The club has offered programming in the form of dance lessons, a DJ workshop and junior achievement, to name a few.
One has to ask where these teenagers' parents are? Perhaps the answer is not to open yet another facility, but for parents to come together and pool resources and ideas to help the organizations already in our neighbourhood be the best they can. As parents we need to remind our children that being bored is not an excuse to cause trouble and that they have the ability to create change where it is needed.
posted at thecoast.ca by Diana
By Diana
