Young people in the Flemingdon Park area will have a new place to hang out and make some noise.
This week, officials and representatives from the United Way, Jays Care Foundation and Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office launched the Flemo City Media Lounge and Recording Studio at the
Dennis R. Timbrell Resource Centre at Don Mills and Eglinton.
This new community facility, undertaken as a partnership of Parks, Forestry and Recreation and the Thorncliffe Neighbourhood Office, was made possible by donations to the City by the
Jays Care Foundation and the
United Way Toronto and York Region’s Youth Challenge Fund. The city provides the space and the youth and staff come up with the programming. The studio has been around since 2009 (and it’s not Parks, Forestry and Recreation’s only recording facility). But there’s now a multipurpose space with flexible work stations where youth aged 13 to 29 can hang out, rehearse, meet or work on other projects without having to go through the city’s formal booking process.
“This group is able to reach youth in a way that’s really progressive and positive and create a constructive opportunities for them. They’re local youth so they’re able to relate to issues that other youth are dealing with,” says Michael Ellison, manager of community recreation for Toronto Parks, Forestry and Recreation. Ellison figures between 20 and 30 people could squeeze into the space.
Writer: Paul Gallant
Source: Michael Ellison