Many people can look back on their younger years and remember how much fun they had going to their local community centers.
It’s a place where youth can be around their peers outside of school. It’s a place where parents don’t have to worry about their children getting into trouble.
Community centers are more than just a “hang out spot.” There are many programs to help students.
But with budget cuts affecting everything, locally community centers are now being forced to charge a daily $10 fee for kids to attend the centers throughout Leon county.
Charging children to attend local communities will create opportunities for more children to roam the streets.
Community centers are more than just a place for children to socialize. These centers provide help to students, offer offering assistance with school projects and homework.
For some it’s a safe haven.
It’s understandable that everything is being affected by budget cuts. But something has to be done when budget cuts affects our children.
If we can’t put invest in our children, what’s the use of putting funding into anything if we can’t fund the future? The children are our future. They will be future politicians, teachers and doctors.
Local community centers will enforce $10 per week per child on Nov. 17.
Although $10 may not seem like a lot, that can quickly add up when low-income families have one or more children at a center.
Most of these families already receive financial assistance from government funding. These parents may have to tell their children they can no longer visit their favorite community centers because they simply cannot afford it.
Whether you have children or not, investment in our youth is important. Children hold the key to our future. We should spend on them the same way we invest in new roads and businesses.
If we don’t put the time and effort needed into impressionable minds, the end result could be more of our children lost in the correctional system.
More children with too much free time on their hands could have a domino effect.
According to a study conducted by University of Minnesota, extracurricular activities are factors for helping youth stay out of the juvenile system.
Hopefully, a procedure will be implemented to prevent children from being turned away from community centers.
It takes a village to raise a child. So as a community we should make sure that no child has to turn to the streets because of $10 fee.