Youth in and around the Dryden area can finally return to the Dryden Youth Centre.
Last Thursday the DYC held a grand opening ceremony to open their doors for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close.
“We're excited to be in a position again. The fact that things are starting to ease and we seem to be on the out of the pandemic in order to allow us to bring important programs back like the Dryden Youth Centre and with yesterday's opening, it was well attended. Really good to see so many young people out,” said Henry Wall CAO of the Kenora District Services Board
“We're hoping as things progress that we can move more and more programming back indoors, which will certainly help, and so very excited that we're back in this position,” added Wall
Wall did mention that youth in and around the Dryden area were very excited for the DYC to re-open and to be able to come back.
“The number [of kids] speaks to how important this is for youth in our community, for them to have a place to go and to hang out and be safe,” says Wall
The DYC will host outdoor activities throughout the summer and the hope is to be able to bring more and more activities inside as COVID-19 vaccination rates increase and restrictions begin to ease.
Wall also wanted to give a big thanks to the community of Dryden, the youth, and the partners that made the DYC what it is today.
“A huge thank you to the City of Dryden, City Council Administration, and also to the Dryden Police Service. We believe that by investing in our youth we will reap the rewards in the future. I want to say that we couldn't be doing this without good community partners like we have and not just in Dryden, but also in other communities as well,” noted Wall
The DYC is open to all youth between the ages of 11-16, from Tuesday to Saturday from 1 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., and is located on the upstairs level of the Dryden Children’s Resource Centre at 113 Albert Street.
The goal of the DYC is to provide a supervised community facility for youth to socialize.