originally published in Millstone News on September 19, 2016

At a meeting of Council on September 6 it was agreed that the new Almonte youth centre will take over the now-vacant Mac’s Milk store on Ottawa Street.

Youth ‘slam poets’ at TYPS, about 2008. Millstone photo.

Our former and long-established youth centre TYPS closed down in October of 2014. As reported in the Millstone at the time, the centre started that year with deficit of $16,500 that it ultimately couldn’t repay, forcing the closure. That left many young people in Almonte without the safe and nurturing place the youth centre had become for them.

Since then the Town and community volunteers have been working hard to create a new centre. A temporary space was set up at the community centre earlier this year and a full slate of summer programs was successfully completed.

At the Council meeting it decided to lease the Mac’s space for three years and to commit to improvements estimated at about $15,000.

In the meantime here’s information about what the new youth centre has planned for this fall: