Last month, City of Niagara Falls Councilmember Bridgette Myles announced she secured $15,000 in state funding to bring evening youth programming to a second location, extending access to a younger and underserved portion of the city's population.
The program builds on Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino's recent announcement of a $67,000 investment to reinstate the "Night Gym" model at the Boys & Girls Club of Niagara Falls, which is now open Monday through Saturday evenings for teenagers.
On Monday evening, several members of the community — both parents and youth — gathered at the Kalfas Magnet School in Niagara Falls to give their opinions and share their desires for what they want the new "Night Gym" to feature.
"Right now we're just building," Myles told BTPM News. "We're looking at opportunities as far as careers, workforce development, arts and crafts, and cooking. So we're at the drawing board. We're leaving it to the youth to tell us what they want."
"Night Gym" is a program that opens its doors in the evening for kids to come and participate in various activities. Myles said she wants to rebuild the program because it was something she benefited from in her teenage years and believes other kids will have the same experience.
"Growing up as a little child, grade school up into high school, we attended 'Night Gym.' It was a safe space to go and just kind of have fun and get resources, and then make your way on home, and then you can shower, eat, and you're ready to go to bed," she said.
Myles said she was inspired after learning more about crime in the area with the youth and discovering most of the kids who were getting in trouble just didn’t have anywhere to go or any programs in place to help give them guidance or resources to help them overcome adversity.
"I was researching the hot spots and the violence and the youth, in particular, ages 18 through 24. There was nothing for them to do; where's the roadmap? Guidance? I reached out to the police department to get the stats," said Myles.
Several Western New York organizations showed up Monday to offer support for the kids, allowing not just fun, but also mental, emotional, and physical opportunities for growth.
