When it comes to programs for teenagers, DaLonta Little said Chapel Hill needs to do more.
Little, a 16-year-old Chapel Hill resident who is part of the town’s youth program, said youth-focused initiatives should offer teens more than just a fun place to hang out.
“I want (town officials) to give more money to the youth programs because (they) keep us out of trouble,” Little said.
The town parks and recreation department plans to do that with a new teen initiative, Chapel Hill 4 YOUth, said Jim Orr, assistant director of recreation operations. It aims to obtain feedback for new programs for 12- to 18-year-olds.
“We as adults and we as programmers think we know everything, but we don’t — especially when it comes to teens,” Orr said. “We need to go to the horse’s mouth.”
Orr said the initiative’s theme is the number four. The department has generated four survey questions it plans to ask at each of its four meetings.
The questions are targeted to ask community members what programs and services they think are working and what they would like to see in the future, Orr said. The department also wants to know about any barriers, like transportation or safety, that prevent youth from attending them.
An invitation-only social at the Street Scene Teen Center, in the basement of the post office building on Franklin Street, will be held Oct. 22. The department plans to pitch the initiative at the social, Orr said.
Orr said more than 50 organizations have been invited to send representatives and a young person to the event. The Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Raleigh’s Family Resource Center are some of the groups expected to attend.
