The Killyleagh and District Youth Forum has been set up following the inaugural meeting held in the Presbyterian Church Hall in Irish Street on Thursday evening 24 March.
It was well supported by a good cross-section of the Strangford and Rowallene political establishment. The first chairman of the youth forum, James Savage, was upbeat about the new initiative and said: “We have been planning this meeting for some time and I am delighted that we now have got it off the ground formally.
“One of our chief goals is to secure a new play area for the Bridge Centre as the current one is totally out-of-date. This play area is a space where drinking and anti-social behaviour has taken place and we hope to address this. There is quite a lot of broken glass around the area. We need the community to feel that they are being listened to.
“We did not grow up through the Troubles with its stains of bloodshed when violence was rife. We didn’t have to put up with the conflict. We condemn the death of the prison officer recently. We must all make the effort and show compassion to one another. Together we can make a difference. We’re going to make a few real changes to this area for the better.”
Ross Connolly, forum member, said: “The work we are involved in in very interesting and I would like to on behalf of all the group thank everyone for their help and assistance.
“The Streetsafe presentation was very informative and we can learn much from that. We have already engaged with the elderly in Killyleagh on a project last Christmas which was successful which helped to break down the perceptions that young people are just about anti-social behaviour.
“We have examined a project in Ballycastle where young people are matched up with an elderly person and they phone them daily to ensure they are fine. We understand that Good Morning Down is doing that in this area already and we will be chatting to them too as we will be respecting the boundaries and protocols involved between groups.”
Strangford MP Jim Shannon added: “This is a very exciting youth forum, it is energetic and capable and the doors are open for them. I pledge I will do all I can to help them on their way. You are our future, you are the community leaders and politicians of the future. So I would just like to again congratulate the new youth forum and wish it well. It has my full support.
“They are very committed and enthusiastic and they must be encouraged to achieve their goals.”
Commending the members of the new youth forum, Rowallene Councillor Billy Walker said: “This group is a very positive initiative coming from the young people in our community and they are determined to make a difference to the quality of life in Killyleagh. They are the future citizen leader of the future.
“As a resident in Killyleagh, it is great to see young people getting involved. They are a credit to our community. Young people are often stereotyped as a group that cause trouble but the reality is that only a very small percentage actually cause problems in Killyleagh and we hope that this group can help address these sorts of key community issues.
“This group is cross-community and inclusive. It is the way to go, and I commend them for that.”
Councillor Terry Andrews also added: “I wish the new forum well and every success in their new ventures. They have a lot of work ahead of them but they are a capable group and will achieve their objectives through time.” Councillor Joe Boyle, Strangford Assembly candidate, also welcomed the setting up of the youth group. And Ellen Brennan, District Electoral Area coordinator, commented: “Rowallene is the only district so far out of the seven in the Newry Mourne and Down District Council area to plan a youth forum and this must be applauded. It is great to see what the youth have been doing in the area and their efforts will spill over into greater things as they reach out across the community.”
In making a presentation to the meeting, Gerard Forward, coordinator of Streetsafe, an Ardglass-based youth group which works with the elderly and vulnerable, explained his groups role which he hoped could be emulated in Killyleagh.
Gerard Forward said: “It is good to see the Killyleagh youth getting involved in their community. Our job is helping to ensure the older people are safe in the community. We have radios and we call into their homes later on in the evening and ensure they are safe and sound.
“Our volunteers are all trained in various skills including first aid. It can be challenging over the day but we do a great job in reaching out to the elderly. We do street patrols round the village and we try and keep an eye on the alcohol abuse and crime situation. Since we began two years ago, the crime rate in the Ardglass area has dropped said the police to us recently.
“Our members have actually been involved in incidents where lives have been saved. We are there to work with people who are vulnerable and experiencing anti-social behavior and suffer from the fear of crime. We have issued literature and panic buttons to a number of elderly people in Ardglass, and our volunteers have been on team-building exercises and training courses.
“We are happy to come over to Killyleagh and assist in the setting up of this model of community activity if that is the direction that the new forum wishes to go in.”
County Down Rural Community Newtwork development officer Lisa Curran facilitated the meeting and assisted the group with the election of the new committee and the adoption of its constitution.
