The Municipality of Leamington has partnered with Pathway to Potential and The Bridge Youth Resource Centre for more opportunities for at-risk youth.
The partnership has provided a free recreation membership program for the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre in Leamington.
The program will grant youth clients of The Bridge Youth Resource Centre unlimited access to the recreation centre so they are able to participate in the programs and amenities over the year.
The program has been developed to encourage healthy interests, strengthen leadership skills and provide opportunities to positively socialize with peers in a safe environment.
Terry Symons, Manager of Recreation with the Municipality of Leamington, says there's a lot being offered to the youth at the recreation centre.
"We have open gym times that they would have access to, we have fitness classes that they would have access to, we have a fully functional weight room which they can come in and work out on their own. We have open swim times, we also have racket ball and squash courts. The facility itself is quite large and there's a lot of opportunity to utilize various areas of the facility."
He says the funding came from Pathway to Potential.
"So we reached out the Pathway to Potential, where we have funding. The Pathway to Potential groups thought it was a great opportunity, they approved the use of some of that funding to provide the opportunity that's been identified. And so, that's kind of how the Municipality of Leamington, Pathway to Potential, and The Bridge got together."
Symons adds that the youth can use the centre whenever they would like.
"The youth that are taking advantage of the opportunity have been identified by The Bridge, and those youth can come and use the membership at their leisure provided that the facility is open, there is hours of operations."
The membership program will remove barriers by eliminating the proof of income requirement routinely included in the P2P registration process for clients of The Bridge Youth Resource Centre including those in supportive housing.