OKEHAMPTON looks set to at long last gain a much-needed youth cafe where young people in the town can meet and get access to information and advice. Devon Youth Service say the new drop-in centre in St James Street could be opening its doors within six months. The cafe will serve as an informal meeting space with coffee bar, pool table, games and activities, internet access and a chill-out seating area plus the information and advice service provided by Directions, currently based next to the former Carlton Cinema. Upstairs there will be a large meeting room and several groups such as drugs and alcohol awareness charity Y-Smart, the West Devon Youth Offenders Team and YISP (Youth Inclusion Support Panel) have expressed an interest in using the room regularly. Pippa St John Cooper, of Devon Youth Services said: ?The young people of Okehampton first highlighted this need for a youth centre four and a half-years ago. ?Okehampton has a growing population with no youth drop-in centre as such, it is a much needed facility.? She said DYS classed young people as those aged from 11-25 years-old, but the centre would mainly cater for the key age range of 13-19 years old, and would be open during the day and evening. She said the centre would give Devon Youth Services a basis in the north of the borough of West Devon and allow them to deliver more services and facilities to young people in isolated rural areas. She said Devon Youth Services would continue to ?work closely? with the college and the other agencies, such as YISP, who by using the cafe would be able to extend the people they reached and the service they offered. Young people will also be able to access information and support at the centre on a range of issues that may be affecting their lives, such as drugs, eating disorders and sexual health. Devon County Councillor Christine Marsh said it had taken a long time to realise the aim of gaining a youth cafe for the town, but she was delighted now that it had been achieved. Cllr Marsh said: ?The centre is not just for Okehampton, but also for young people in the surrounding district.? Cllr Marsh said there was a demand for a youth cafe in Okehampton which had been identified through a survey carried out under the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative. ?It was the top priority identified by young people themselves,? she said. The new site for the youth cafe is in St James Street, the one time office of former constituency MP John Burnett. The building will cost around £60,000 to renovate, including disabled access and facilities and it is hoped the centre will be open by April next year. The facility will be partly run by youngsters themselves through a management committee. It is also hoped a ?Friends of Okehampton Youth Cafe? can be established when the facility is opened. Devon Youth Services are being supported in this venture by a number of funding partners including Devon County Council and the Okehampton United Non Ecclesiastical Trust.
