Dunclug Youth Forum opens Drop in Centre

Dunclug Youth Forum’s new centre is situated at 104 Dunclug Park in an end of terrace three bedroom house that had been badly vandalised and was the property of Northern Ireland Housing Executive.

Kevin McCrudden, the chairperson of the Dunclug Youth Forum and committee member of Dunclug Partnership, stated: “We are truly grateful to Eric Woods and John McMaster of N.I.H.E for affording us the opportunity to be able to lease free of rent this accommodation for use as a drop in centre”.

The building was in a near derelict state and major work had to be carried out both outside and inside the building.However, with a lot of hard work the dwelling has been transformed into a quality drop in centre for the youth of Dunclug and will be a great asset to the community.

Funding for electrically operated window grilles and security devices was secured from the Big Lottery Fund’s Awards For All programme by the Dunclug Partnership project manager, Colum Best.

And kitchen equipment including fridge/freezer and other appliances was provided with funding of over £7,000 from Lloyds T.S.B.John Moore Foundation has also provided over £7,000 for operational costs for a three year period. Policing in the Community fund also provided funding.

At the official opening ceremony Kevin McCrudden thanked everyone associated with the efforts to establish the drop in centre. A special gift of a watch was presented to Colum Best for his endless help and support for the project and for obtaining all the funding.

Kevin paid tribute to all the volunteers who have given of their time over the past years to help and support the youth of the area.

The opening was attended by over sixty people representing statutory bodies and the community/voluntary groups in the community.

A superb buffet lunch was provided and special thanks must go to Hilda McCrudden for all her hard work in the preparation of the food.

Children’s commissioner, Patricia Lewsley Mooney, congratulated all who have been involved in the project. The commissioner recognised the importance of the involvement of local youth as they are the future of the community.

She said: “Being in Dunclug has been great. The work of the youth forum has seen anti social behavior in the area reduce and this project will go a long way to help improve this further.

“This is a real opportunity to celebrate the work of young people and the dedicated community workers in Dunclug.”

She also stated that it was good to see the inter generational work that has taken place.

Dunclug over the years has seen quite a change that is all very positive, crime rate is down and a feel good factor is returning to the community. It is hoped that the drop in centre will add to this as youth now have a place where they can spend time socialising in a safe environment and get more involved in being part of the community.

It is important that the youth have a voice in the community and should be empowered to be active community representatives.