A CV Life leisure centre hopes reaching out to youngsters from the local community will help improve relations.
Moat House Leisure and Neighbourhood Centre has sadly experienced problems when dealing with a small antisocial section of some of the local children and teenagers.
So centre manager James has purchased a pool table and table football to try and win them over.
James said: “Woodend is one of the more deprived, low-income areas in Coventry. The majority of the community are fantastic, really nice, decent people, but sadly there is a small minority of local kids who can be difficult.
“As a centre we take our work in the community very seriously so I wanted to reach out to some of the people we previously might have had issues with.
“We spoke to some of the local kids and did a bit of research, and it seemed like a few more activities and facilities at Moat House would be a good idea – particularly with the lack of youth groups in the area.
“So we’ve bought table football and a pool table, and we hope this will lead to kids appreciating the efforts and maybe taking a bit of pride in their leisure centre. I really want them to feel like we’re working together, rather than against each other.”
Discussing the other community outreach projects Moat House is involved in, James added: “This is a busy community hub with lots going on. Each Tuesday the centre hosts a popular social afternoon called Tea & Talk which allows local people who otherwise might be isolated to get out and have a cuppa and a chat with people in similar situations.
“We also host weekly walking netball and basketball sessions which allows older people or those with less mobility to enjoy a gentler side of competitive team sports.
“We also have Sky Blues in the Community who run weekly football & basketball sessions for a range of ages and all genders to get everyone involved in exercise.
“I have also been recruiting local people over the last year into Duty Manager, Reception, and Rec Attendant roles. These people have real pride in the centre as it’s their centre in the area of the city they are from.”
Article written by Danny Thompson.