My Sentiments Exactly

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "The Writer is right":

Attendance did not drop off because of the venue change. It dropped off because the activity was a lame attempt at keeping the kids occupied.

We really need to wake up and understand the needs and demands of the youth of today before we spend any money on a facility.

They do not want to sit around a room and eat a cold slice of pizza and watch a movie that is over a year old. They can watch whatever they want on their computer, phone, game system and eat whatever they want at the same time.

For the kids that are out and about at night, the activities suggested would not be attractive to them either.

I think we need to get a better handle on the demand before we throw our hats into this ring.

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These are my sentiments exactly.  The trouble is for all the reasons given, the youth providing input into the need are not the kids who are out and about at night.

I think  determining the needs for these kids  is not something for consultants  to discover.

We need to cast our minds back  and be honest about  what it's like to be between thirteen and eighteen.

You're neither a kid nor  an adult. Hormones are raging and you don't know yourself what you might  do from one minute to the next. The  compulsion  is to be with  peers. To be doing anything except what you were doing when you were a kid.

But you don't know what . Because,you've never been there before.

You may have made mistakes already, need a chance to re-coup. and a reason not to repeat.

But you feel like nobody gives a damn. In some cases unfortunately that may be true.

But there are people who care.  If we can provide the place where they and  teens can come together, we might be able to  help them get through the twilight zone of nowhere land safely.

Then they'll be able to help each other.

It's the gap I see that needs to be filled.