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Westwood Park continued target for Little Chalfont youths
A gang of youngsters are continuing to run amok in Little Chalfont again targeting Westwood Park spreading graffiti and intimidating residents.
Now mindless intruders have kicked their way the sports pavilion at Westwood Park off Elizabeth Avenue, causing several hundred pounds worth of damage.
The self styled Elizabeth Avenue Goonz, who have seemingly claimed responsibility for the crime, having daubed this logo on the front door to the pavilion, are one Little Chalfont gangs who have been making life hell for residents in and around the pavilion.
There has been under aged drinking, intimidating behaviour, and even the possibility of drug taking in and around Westwood Park.
Having burst their way into the pavilion, the unknown intruders tore up carpet, damaged the showers, and chairs, internally, leaving an awful mess for Little Chalfont parish clerk Janet Mason and her staff.
Police were called in immediately and now the council is reappraising plans to spend £10,000 on beautifying the four dressing room structure which dates back to the 1950s.
Mrs Mason, in post at Little Chalfont for just under a year, said: "It is a real concern what is going on in and around Elizabeth Avenue.
"I feel very sorry for people down there but we are going ahead with plans for seeking special orders that would enable the police to confiscate drink from those suspected of under age drinking."
Mrs Mason said she had approached workmen to board up the pavilion and she was currently involved in reconsidering just what current parish council priorities are with regard to the pavilion.
"I am disappointed with this latest turn of events and so are the councillors, but we are not going to give up, " said Mrs Mason.
Yobs have repeatedly plastered the outside of the building with graffiti but this is the first time anyone has got into the building, said the clerk.
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EAG's 324
I feel sorry for these poor children. It's pretty obvious to me that they are bored, and have nowhere to go in the evenings. Instead of wasting £10,000 on this, why not invest in a nice Youth Club for the youngsters to go to? There, they can mix with their peers, and have a nice game of pool, rather than allowing boredom to dictate their behaviour. It makes perfect sense to me.
dunnoooo 3.2.4
I think that sometimes it's really easy to judge people by their behavior rather than getting to know the person and really listen to their story to find out where they are coming from.
I've had the privilege of meeting with some of the young people who live in Elizabeth Avenue and getting to know them a bit. I think they are absolutely great, I genuinely do. I'm not pretending to have some special insight into their lives or anything, but I do know that there are many different reasons why people chose to do the things focussed on in this article. It's fulfilling a need, so until this need is met the behavior will continue.
So who's responsibility is it to enable these needs to be met? You could suggest the police? The local community support officers are all very supportive and brilliant people - many of them go above and beyond. But the main focus of their role as I see it is to be reactive rather than proactive (as in to deal with antisocial behavior if it occurs, and to enforce the law).
Ok, so how about the council? As Sarah Street suggested, why don't they set up a youth group? Well they are in the process of doing so. Without going into too much detail, many things have been put in place to enable this to happen, and the council have worked very hard and got as far as they can with it at this stage.
However, one of the main issues is finding adult helpers to assist in the running of this club (or funding to employ a part time youth worker). It would be so easy to blame the young people for their behaviour, or family environment, or the police, or the council for not doing this or that....the list is endless. But the fact of the matter is that the responsibility falls on each and every one of us to be involved in any way we can. Desmond Tutu describes it:
'My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together.'
He describes a community as being like a family. Within a family those who contribute less, are often those who we look after the most e.g. infants, or the elderly. Wouldn't it be amazing if this was the case within Little Chalfont. If we all sought to come alongside those who are not having their needs met. As human beings we all have needs, and if you are having yours met in other areas of life, that's brilliant. How about if we all try and enable that to happen for others around us?
Wow, what a lot I've got to say about it! Just for a bit of background, I'm a youthworker in the local area, and I am really passionate about the young people who live in and around EA - you may have guessed! I'm also writing a couple of essays at the mo about graffiti in the area, so it's where my head's at at the moment.
If you would like more information about how you can get involved with the brilliant stuff that's going in the local community, please do! Ask any of the local community support officers, email someone from the council, or contact me by popping into cafe africa in Amersham and picking up one of my business cards which are located in a little container next to the sugar! I would be delighted to hear from you.