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Giving a techno-treat

Teenagers and young adults in Salford are experiencing a treat with the opening of a new Christian youth centre

The new resource costing £150,000, opened this autumn and is serving the community by advising, caring, training and providing opportunity for young people in the Langworthy and Seedley estates.

The LifeCentre is a meeting place with a difference. It is fitted out with Dreamcast playstations, the latest video presentation and sound equipment, coffee bar and lounge area.

Established by three partners, The Message, Open Hands International, (both Greater Manchester-based Christian charities), and the Shaftesbury Society, the LifeCentre provides 11-25 year-olds with a youth cafe.

Queueing to get in

Kerry Slater, a spokesperson for the project, told EN that since the Life-Centre had opened on September 19, young people had queued to get in. With such demand, it has been possible often only to let in a certain number of youngsters at a time.

The premises are a three-storey building at the end of a row of shops. The project is managed by Nicky Hutchings, part of the local Eden Project team. About 30 other youth workers from the Eden Project live in the area immediately behind the youth centre, so there is plenty of support.

There is practical help in the form of training, IT resources, sports and leisure activities, arts and crafts workshops, counselling services, money management, HIV, pregnancy and sexual health information.

Volunteers

The Eden Project encourages young volunteers to support themselves with nine-to-five jobs and live nearby, but to be involved with youth work in the evenings or at weekends. The Project also has two or three full-time schools' workers, headed by Carl Belcher. The Project is local church-based and all the workers are lent to Mount Chapel Christian Fellowship.

The work among the young people is done by building relationships with them, rather than having classic evangelistic talks. Kerry Slater told EN: 'We want the youngsters to trust us and chat about their lives. Youth workers also have the opportunity to share with them about their lives in a non-threatening way and this leads naturally into talking about Jesus'.

Passion for teenagers

The LifeCentre is protected by metal shelters when it is closed, and there is an alarm system and CCTV for security. But generally, the Project has been so well received in the community that at present there is little fear of vandalism.

Andy Hawthorn, the Message director, said: 'We have a passion for teenagers to develop their full potential and see that there is more to life than drugs, sex and crime. Salford is an area that suffers from high crime, youth unemployment and poverty. This LifeCentre is the first we have set up in Greater Manchester to give local people an opportunity to help themselves.'

The LifeCentre is open daily from 8.00 pm at 219 Langworthy Road, Salford, Greater Manchester.