Freedom Village opens Youth and Family Center

Apr 27, 2010 at 01:25 pm by Observer-Review


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Freedom Village opens Youth and Family Center

WATKINS GLEN—When the Schuyler County Youth Center closed, Pastor Fletcher Brothers decided the community still needed a place where youth and families could come together.
So he bought the former Storylines Bookstore, just across the road on Franklin Street from where the youth center used to be, and turned it into the Youth and Family Center.  It will have been open for three weeks this Friday, after celebrating its grand opening April 9.
Peggy Coons, public relations for Freedom Village, explained the youth center gives children, teenagers, and families a place to come and hang out for free with adult supervision.  People do not need to pay to use the pool table, foosball table, video games, or board games.  The center does also sell food and snacks, as well as take out.
She said some of the people they have coming in are from the nearby businesses for breakfast.  Coons added that one mother said she liked the center because she had a daughter in dance and son in karate at different times, so each has to come along to the other’s session.  Coons said the mother liked having a location down the street where her son or daughter could be, with adult supervision.
That supervision comes from Chris and Craig, who run the youth center.  Coons added that other teenagers from the Freedom Village come down to the youth center as well.
Coons said in the future, they would like to offer classes, like for art.  She added the upstairs portion of the building is being remodeled into offices and a conference room.  She said Freedom Village would like to offer counseling for youth and families there, as well as have the conference room for any group that might want to use it.
The Youth and Family Center is open Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.  Coons said it is closed on Sunday, but Brothers opens it up after church for a while. 
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