West Lindsey News - West Lindsey District Council

Thanks for keeping us
off the streets
Teenagers grateful for youth café
Teenagers have thanked the
council for helping to keep their
youth café open.
The Arena Café in Market Rasen
provides a safe place for young
people to meet up instead of hanging
around on the streets.
Figures released by Lincolnshire
Police show the café has helped
to halve the number of anti-social
behaviour incidents in the town since
January 2010 – down from 32 to
just 17.
The Community Safety Unit at
the council has awarded the café a
£15,000 grant to ensure its good work
can carry on.
Leader of West Lindsey District
Council and a ward member for
Market Rasen, Cllr Burt Keimach said:
“We are delighted to award this grant
to the youth café, which has had a
significant impact in Market Rasen
– and not only on the anti-social
behaviour figures.
“It has also made a big difference to
the area and gives the young people
a safe place to go on a Friday evening
in the town.
“The council is working
closely with CG Partnerships,
which manages the café, to
look at making its future more
sustainable.”
Jack Rook, 14, has been
going to the café, also known as the
Friday Night Project, since it opened.
He said: “It is somewhere to go
rather than loitering around on the
streets.
“It is not fun for people to see
lots of kids on the street as it can be
intimidating, when they walk past big
groups.
“I am pleased the council has paid
to keep the café open. The fact they
are putting money into the café at all
because of the budget cuts is really
good.”
Mason Dawson, 13, meets up with
his friends in the café. He is also a
member of the Market Rasen Youth
Council.
He said: “Before the café opened
there was a lot of vandalism in the
town caused by people
Sam Rea, Youth worker for the Friday Night Project,
chats with young people at the Arena Café
Graffiti artist Luke Brisbane produced his
design with help from James Mayle at
the Friday Night Project’s Urban Extravanganza
because they had nothing
else to do.”
“If I was not at the café I would be
hanging around on the streets with my
friends.
“Now I help out in the tuck
shop, play on the Wii and use the
computers. I am so pleased the
council have given the café a grant to
keep open.”
Young people can use all the
facilities available and youth workers
are on hand to talk to.
CG Partnership Project Worker,
Sam Rea, said the café regularly has
between 20 and 30 young people
attending on a Friday night.
She said: “This grant is fantastic
news. This café really has given
young people an opportunity to say no
to going out drinking with their friends
and has given them an alternative
place to go.
“Last year we engaged with
137 people and almost 80 of them
returned four or more times, which
exceeded our expectations.
“I have definitely noticed a positive
change in behaviour and attitude with
the young people we have at the café
on a Friday night.
“One young person recently
opened up to me and said ‘you and
the Friday Night Project have made
a difference in my life’.”
West Lindsey News 15