A vision for change: Youthline Manukau's new home

Youthline is expanding their reach in the Manukau region through a critically needed, innovative new facility.

"We have been given a 30 year lease of the once iconic Papatoetoe Fire Station, which is in a prime location on St Georges Street, easily accessible to young people, their families and the wider community," says Project Coordinator Kate Duder.

Construction began late last year and in mid July Youthline will take over the building from Fletchers Construction. After completing some internal projects with the community involved, Youthline staff and tenants plan to move into the centre in August.

The new centre aims to engage with the broader social and health issues of the local community.

"It's incredible to see our vision for the centre finally coming to life- the project represents more than a decade of planning and needs analysis and it'll help enrich the local area through support services, leadership and personal development opportunities."

The variety of youth development opportunities available through the centre contribute to the six principles of the Youth Development Strategy Aotearoa and the eight outcomes of the CMDHB Manukau Youth Development Model.

Some of these visions include:

- A Cafe and hospitality centre which will not only provide great food but also youth cooking classes, apprenticeships and hospitality training opportunities to support healthy eating and nutritional education.

- Performing Arts area- our ground floor meeting room is being completed with a recycled Rimu floor, so that it can double as a dance, drama poetry and creative arts space.

- A designated area within the centre fostering youth and leadership development through a youth radio station. This is currently an 'open' vision ready for inspired individuals to guide its development.

- A connected space, internet enabled for young people or members of the community to access the internet outside home, work or school, providing them with a space for study, learning and developing valuable IT skill.

- Numerous programme, consultation and meeting rooms and event spaces, available for youth development programmes, face 2 face counselling and casual hire for local community groups and businesses.

"A project of this scale is going to have great spinoffs for the local community- It's estimated the projected value of accessible free and low-cost services, programmes and information to the Manukau community will be well over 1 million, annually.

These visions not only create a platform for youth and community development, however also fulfill Youthline's objective to create social enterprise through the centre. The café and areas for casual or permanent rent will help fund the ongoing operational costs of the centre while also contributing to the centre being a community hub, easily accessible to be utilized by the local community for benefit to the community.

ENDS

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