The Charlotteville Police Youth Club will soon have a place to call home.
Recently, the club led by WPC Rheanne Moore acquired an unoccupied two-storey building that previously housed the magistrates court and the post office, but has been abandoned for over a decade.
Moore told Newsday that the building was handed over by THA Chief Secretary Farley Augustine, who also serves as the electoral representative for the area. She said it was earmarked by the club as the most feasible location to transform to a youth-friendly space in the community.
“We have always dreamed for a home from inception, as I think any youth organisation's goal is to have their own youth-friendly space for the young people. We started in 2013 in the (Charlotteville Public) library, and it is there we have been for the last nine years.”
The club has been in existence since 2013 and launched over 30 community-based programs in the village.
[caption id="attachment_939283" align="alignnone" width="720"] PYC Leader Rheanne Moore - Charlotteville PYC[/caption]
Moore said, “We have always seen the need for our own space as youth participation within communities strengthens and forms the core of sustainable communities. Not having a home never impeded our progress, we have impacted our community regardless and it is demonstrated in our many accolades.”
The refurbishment work will be made possible through Digicel Foundation's extraordinary projects impacting communities (EPIC) programme – one of 100 community-based initiatives the foundation has funded since 2016. It aims to deliver a series of small scale community-based projects designed to enhance community spaces and improve health, education and sport development in marginalised communities.
“The club applied for a grant through the Digicel Foundation’s EPIC and topped the application process amongst over 60 other community groups in Tobago. The club has received $150,000, which will go towards refurbishing the building.”
She said the application for the grant was made in October 2021, and the club was shortlisted.
“The grant is available to NGOs to transform a community space. Having been shortlisted, I did a virtual presentation to the board of directors in January of 2022 outlining our plans and giving a deeper insight into what we plan to do to transform the building.”
She said sometime after, she was contacted, and it was pure jubilation for the team.
[caption id="attachment_939282" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Back left to right: Amelia Moore, Khalia Gray, Mckacy Wallace and Christa Horsford Seated from left: Vice President Tilleah Wooley and PYC Leader Rheanne Moore - Charlotteville PYC[/caption]
“We placed first overall. This gesture means a lot, we are a very young youth organisation – only nine years. This means a lot to the young people. We have worked hard over the years, and we are humbled to be selected amongst the other three groups in Tobago to really make our island a better pl
