New Glebeside scheme takes young people off the streets

A new initiative aimed at taking young people off the streets and engaging them in a focused community project has received enthusiastic response in the Glebeside estate in Ballymoney.

The brainchild of the Glebeside Community Association, the project brought together 18 young people who were busy at work last Tuesday cutting grass, weeding and generally carrying out a tidy-up in the immediate vicinity of the Community House in the estate.

Development Officer at the Glebe, Noel Anderson, explained that funding for the idea came from the PSNI and the Education and Library Board.

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"It's called the Dream Scheme Project and is part of an Intervention project," Mr. Anderson said.

He added: "We appealed to the young people of the area to take part and their reward is by way of points which, when accumulated, take them away on trips. It's something that has gone down well."

Mr. Anderson revealed that the first stages of the project entailed a tidy up of the community office grounds and cutting grass and tending to flowers and plants on the adjacent green area.

"We will be widening this out to include more areas of the estate in the near future," Mr. Anderson said.

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Hubert McVicker, who was helping supervise the young people last week, offered a practical view when he said:

"This will take youngsters off the streets and give them someting positive to do. It's easy for them to go out at night and roam the streets with the possibility of getting into trouble. No one is saying they would do that, but this way we give them something positive to do and it all helps them become better citizens," Hubert added.