Teen Place Youth Nights

New Germany Area Promotion Society

A unique partnership between the New Germany Area Promotion Society and South Shore Health has resulted in the creation of a dual purpose facility: Teen Place Youth Health Centre and the New Germany Area Promotion Society Community Centre. The purpose of the Teen Place Youth Health Centre is to provide a safe and supportive space for youth throughout the New Germany Area, a place where kids can get off of the street and into a youth friendly environment where positive behaviour is fostered and counseling and health education is provided. Teen Place opened for service in the Fall of 2008, and is within one kilometer of the local high school.

Teen Place Youth Nights

Teen Place Youth Nights are a series of Friday night activity/program nights for New Germany Youth who are between the ages of 12-18 years old. Teen Place Youth Nights provide youth with a place to come and feel welcome, a place to hang out that’s an alternative to just hanging out. Consultations with teens indicated that their number one need for the community is to have a safe place to gather, some place where there is interesting things to do. Teen Place Youth Nights responds to this need. Teen Place Youth Nights function on several levels:

• Provides a safe place for youth to be on Friday nights with positive role models
• Provides themed evenings (art projects, discussion groups, music and poetry), allowing youth to build upon their strengths and display them in the community
• Provides training for both youth and adult leaders on issues like diversity, conflict resolution, and addictions
• Provides referrals and links between youth and other community agencies
• Provides the foundation for sustainable youth/adult partnerships within the community

Crime Prevention

Teen Place Youth Nights prevents crime by:

• Keeping teens active and alleviating boredom
• Addressing socioeconomic disadvantages that rural youth can sometimes be faced with
• Increasing the health and well-being of the community’s youth
• Educating youth in conflict resolution
• Promoting diversity
• Promoting violence prevention
• Role modeling healthy relationships
• Fostering feelings of pride for their community