MEDICINE HAT, AB – Local youth are excited to head back to the Be YOUth Centre this summer.
The centre reopened Wednesday afternoon.
They will now be open Monday’s, Wednesday’s, and Friday’s with an afternoon session from 1-3:30 and evening from 4:30-7 pm.
11-year-old Piper Christianson says she’s excited to be back.
She says she’s getting used to wearing a mask while there.
But says it’s worth it to be with her friends and to enjoy group activities again.
Be YOUth Executive Director Brett Tobler says kids have to pre-register and can do so on their social media pages.
“We also have to wear masks while we’re here. It’s very hard to social distance inside the centre so wearing a mask allows us to have a maximum capacity of 20 so it increases our numbers.”
Tobler says the Be YOUth Centre will also be hosting International Youth Day on August 12 at Kin Coulee, which has been approved by the city.
Meantime, the Redcliff Youth Centre is open and can also host up to 20 youth indoors and 30-40 for their outdoor programming, depending on the activity.
They hosted a movie night last week outdoors and had 40 youth participate. They did so by creating individual pods in their backyard space for families and youth.
Janae Ulrich Youth Wellness & Program Coordinator says due to the COVID-19 regulations, there is a parent consent form, along with individual health checklists completed for each individual youth prior to attending any activity.
“Considering we are in walking distance for the majority of our attending youth, they are able to take forms home for the summer along with calendars to decide which activities they want to participate in,” she added.
The Redcliff Youth Centre is still working on renovations to the other half of their building.
