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•T he IFP• H alton H ills, Thursday, Septem ber 26, 2013 13 BUY FROM THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW 905-873-1626361 Guelph St. GEORGETOWN www.conceptford.com Guelph St. (Hwy. 7) Win ston Chu rchi llBl vd. Mis siss aug aR d. Delr exB lvd. X ENDS SEPT. 30TH CONCEPT HURRY IN! CONCEPT www.charlestonhomes.ca519-823-1900 � Youth centres in jeopardy of closing If new funding isn't found, the two youth centres in town will be forced to close next year. Sandra Melhuish, CEO and Executive Director of Links2Care, which operates the centres, said it costs about $150,000 to run both Off the Wall in Acton and The Open Door in Georgetown. Currently the United Way of Halton Hills and Town provide about a quarter of the annual funding. In addition, first a Trillium Grant, then the Region of Halton provid- ed about half of the annual requirements. However, neither the Trillium funds or Re- gion funding was intended to be permanent and by Dec. 31 (2013) no more money will be available from either source. Each year Links2Care makes up the funding shortfall (about 25 per cent) through charity events, donations and its own reserves. While it will continue to be an important funding source, it's not likely the organization can raise three times its prior annual contribution to keep the cen- tres open. The Links2Care board has decided to go into its reserve funds to fund the short- fall through June 30, 2014. But if alternate funding can't be found, the centres will close after next June. Melhuish said if the centres closed, "It would have a very negative impact on the community." So, in an effort to secure new funding, the Links2Care board has created a com- mittee to look for other funding options. She said they have approached the pro- vincial government many times over the years but have had no success. They have also approached local busi- nesses and are hoping area residents might also come through with ideas. Approximately 700 youth regularly use the centres, both as drop-in centres and as a source for counseling and referrals. Melhuish said they have a "very relaxed drop-in atmosphere." There are pool tables, video games, big screen televisions as well as computer stations. The two staff youth workers in the cen- tres deal with a variety of issues with the youth on a daily basis including drug and alcohol abuse, bullying, pregnancy and homelessness. She said over the summer there were nine homeless youths living in tents on private property and the youth workers checked on them to ensure they were safe and attempted to get them back home or into a shelter. Anyone interested in providing funding, ideas, or taking part on the special commit- tee is asked to contact Melhuish at smelhu- ish@links2care.ca. By LISA TALLYN Staff Writer