Thurso Youth Club thriving again and 'doing what it's meant to do'
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Five years ago it was on the brink of closure, but now Thurso Youth Club is a thriving hub – helped by a £125,000 programme of improvements to the building that has been its base since the early 1960s.
A lack of funding meant the club was about a month away from shutting its doors in 2018. It survived that threat, then from 2020 it had to adapt as Covid restrictions brought further challenges. Now it is fully operational again, offering services for around 150 children and young people in term time and around 50 attending for holiday activities.
These are taking place on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday during the middle four weeks of the school break, finishing on August 3, run by five part-time staff working alongside a team of volunteers
"The kids are coming in two hours a day," chairperson Helen Allan explained. "We got funding from Highland Council for that, so it's great, and they get lunch as well.
"We've had a beach day, we've had games inside, and arts and crafts sessions. We've done a lot of Lego-building and they've been on walks."
There have also been trips for different age groups to The Field, an outdoor youth project in Alness, and Landmark Forest Adventure Park, at Carrbridge.
The youth club itself – part of the same complex of buildings as the Mill Theatre – offers plenty to keep children and young people engaged and entertained, from badminton, table tennis, a pool table and air hockey to Wii and Xbox – although "most of them are just quite happy to come in and chill", according to Mrs Allan.
"We've got lots of spaces that are separate so little friends groups can get together. We do try to encourage young people to try new things."
There is a drop-in café on a Friday afternoon and an ethos of listening to what the young people might want rather than telling them what they'll be doing.
The club is also the venue for Thurso Community Development Trust’s Sharing Shed and older adult lunches.
It has come a long way since the threat of closure loomed large.
"It was about a month from closing," recalled Mrs Allan, who also chairs the development trust. "The core funding had been cut. The board had been there a long time and they'd been trying very hard but they weren't quite sure where to turn.
"I got involved and Youth Highland [the network of youth clubs and groups in the region] became involved as well. Also it coincided with some money becoming available from grant aid.
"Grants opened up that hadn't been available before, so we were able to apply for those. That gave us enough to live on, and we appointed some youth workers and we got started.
"We were doing quite well until 2019, we were building up really nicely. We had three youth workers at the time, we were opening three or four times a week, and children and young people were coming along.
"Then obviously in 2020 Covid hit. We didn't close as such, we kept an online presence with the older kids. As soon as we were allowed, which was July 2020, we opened up again outside – we could run an outside club.
"We got some funding to buy gazebos and shelters and we set them up out the back. We were very limited as to how many could be in a session, so we had a booking system and a limited number of leaders there.
"But the children were just so delighted to get a chance to be with other children, and because it was outside it was quite safe. It took them about half an hour of feeling strange and then it was like nothing had ever happened, like they'd never been away.
"All through 2020 we went with the guidance and then we were able to move back indoors again, always using the Covid protocols. We had to be very careful with numbers, but we managed."
A further lockdown followed. "Then in 2022, about March, we reopened – and that's it, we've been going ever since.
"The youth club came into its own then because the development trust had actually based itself in the youth club at that point, so the club became the base for all the development trust's operations. It was where we gave out PPE [personal protective equipment], it was where we started the first Sharing Shed, which is still there, and the youth club kitchen provided the base for the hundred or so hot meals that went out five days a week."
Approximately £125,000 of funding was sourced to replace and refurbish the youth club's kitchen, replace the guttering and downpipes, replace fire doors and refurbish the toilets.
"We've been incredibly lucky with funding streams that have opened up that have allowed us to tackle some of the building issues," Mrs Allan said.
The complete kitchen refit was carried out in partnership with the Rotary Club of Thurso. It involved replacing the roof and outside walls, putting in insulation and installing a modern, commercial-standard kitchen.
The first phase of toilet refurbishment has been another key development. "Those toilets that were in the place would have been there for 60 years," Mrs Allan pointed out. "The plumbing was a bit archaic."
She added: "We're not out of the woods yet because there's still no core funding coming in. We still have to scrabble about for every penny.
"But I would say the youth club is doing what it's meant to do. It's a building for the community, it's there for the community – it kind of just got forgotten about for a while.
"A lot of it is 'use it or lose it'. We have to use these buildings. Caithness is quite lucky because we have quite a lot of youth clubs.
"Young people [in other areas] would bite your hand off for the facilities we've got. This building is designed around young people. We're doing what we want to be doing now.
"And I must stress how good the team of youth workers are. They are very committed."
Mrs Allan, who in March 2022 was named as Board Trustee of the Year in the Highland Third Sector Awards, would welcome newcomers to the youth club's board and is also keen to see more youngsters coming along.
"More kids are most definitely welcome and we really would welcome more volunteers," she said. "We need more people on our board.
"I have to say there is a core of very loyal board members who have been there all through the bad times, all through the times when it was really difficult, and have stayed. But we really need some new blood so that some people can take a bit of a back seat."
Anyone willing to become involved can get in touch through Facebook or phone the club on 01847 892964.
Meanwhile, a new project is being trialled: a holiday club for the five to 12 age group, running from 8am to 5.30pm, five days a week, designed for parents who are working during the holidays and seeking provision for their children. If the project is successful, all-year-round provision will be looked at.
Mrs Allan said: "Our aim is, if we can prove there is a demand – which we think there is, but we need to have evidence – we would be looking at getting registered with the Care Inspectorate as well."
