EMMA FRAWLEY, of Buckeridge Road, Teignmouth, writes:
I am a long-time resident of our town and I am writing to express my concern about Eastcliff Youth Centre.
The youth club is in dire need of support from our town as it is struggling to stay open. Also, the downstairs area of Eastcliff, The Pulse, is a place for local up and coming bands to practice and it needs a fire escape to reopen.
We are currently petitioning for this and need help.
Another issue is that we are not allowed to be open on a Friday night and our sole reason for staying open on a Friday night is to keep youths off the streets and somewhere safe.
I do not think it fair that people fighting so hard to keep it open should be ignored.
The government has given up on us because we do not target the age group that they want, which is eight to 13-year-olds who could potentially be badly behaved in the future. They will not fund us because they have given up on trying to help the age group that we target.
The youths who currently attend our youth club have difficult backgrounds. We feel it is up to us to encourage them to stay in school and get a career. Also, one of the youth workers gives sexual health talks which, as you know, are incredibly important for young teenagers.
It would seem that getting as much support for Eastcliff would not only be beneficial to us but beneficial to the town.
There are plenty of youths on the seafront of Teignmouth, drinking under age, and this is causing problems for our beloved town. Eastcliff is somewhere for them to go where they will be safe and sober.
Do we really want to lose something that can be so beneficial to our town?