PTC Commission on Children and Youth ready to call it quits

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Citing a lack of community interest and a lack of direction, Peachtree City's Commission on Children and Youth is recommending to the City Council that it be disbanded.

Since the commission's goals are now being met by other agencies, there isn't much left to be done, several commission members said at its regular meeting Tuesday night.

Cele Eifert, the CCY's new chairperson, said the commission had a difficult time seeing "where it fit in."

"We just felt there wasn't going to be much of a purpose for our existence," Eifert said.

"Other programs are taking up where we at one time worked for the city," said CCY member Chuck Lehman. He also cited a lack of interest from the community, noting that only four people responded to a recent CCY survey that was sent to all Peachtree City homes in the city's monthly Update newsletter.

Originally, CCY was founded in 1988 through the efforts of then-mayor Fred Brown. The group was initially charged with studying alcohol and drug abuse among youths in Peachtree City and developing a public education and referral service to help resolve or minimize those problems.

In February of last year, however, the City Council changed the CCY mission to "improve the quality of life for the youth of the community." Over the years, CCY was involved in a number of initiatives such as parenting workshops and other programs aimed at youths for mentoring and other purposes.

The work of Fayette Family Alliance Coordinating Teamwork, Outreach and Resources (FACTOR) was cited as one of the reasons the CCY is no longer needed. FACTOR is a countywide coalition of agencies serving local families.

Also, efforts by the local school system through its Children At Risk in Education (CARE) program are also meeting the CCY's original goals, several commissioners said.

Two audience members, however, urged the commission to rethink its wishes to disband. Nancy Faulkner, who is also running for City Council, said she didn't want to see the city drop its efforts because the issues are being dealt with on a countywide basis.

Faulkner said she is worried about unsupervised teens in the city and she would like to see the city develop programs where those youths would be supervised.

"There's no way to wipe out the drug problem," Faulkner said. "But you can't keep sticking your head in the sand."

John Dufresne said the commission should consider administering programs outside the school environment instead of depending on the school system to meet the needs of local youths.

Dufresne added that the CCY should be "the city's advocate for children."

Eifert said the community doesn't view CCY as a resource, however. Instead, members of the public are more likely to rely on school counselors and local ministers for assistance, she said.

Lehman noted that only two citizens attended the meeting to oppose the idea of disbanding CCY, even though it was announced in the newspaper last week.

He also noted that no one else has come forward with any concerns about the concept, including members of the public and city officials.

The commission is recommending several options, including re-creating it as an authority so it could have city funds to spend as necessary. Another option is for the City Council to appoint a representative to FACTOR with that person reporting directly to council.

The final option is to disband the CCY entirely without any further action.

The recreation department will still operate programs aimed at enhancing the lives of local families, said CCY Coordinator Bernice Wassell.

"The recreation department will still concentrate on family and youth concerns and certainly promote strengthening of families," Wassell said. "It's not going to go away."

Youth Advisory Board will continue even if CCY ceases to exist

By JOHN MUNFORD
jmunford@TheCitizenNews.com

Although it appears that the Peachtree City Commission on Children and Youth may soon cease to exist, the same fate isn't planned for the CCY's Youth Advisory Board.

The YAB, comprised of local high school students representing their peers' concerns to the city, will continue to meet and will work directly with the recreation department, said CCY Coordinator Bernice Wassell.

The board serves as a youth leadership program that exposes students to happenings in the community, Wassell said. The YAB, composed of up to 25 students at any one time, meets twice a month. The YAB also has a representative that meets with the CCY to relay the board's concerns to the committee, Wassell said.

"The Youth Advisory Board will continue under the recreation department," Wassell said. "It is a voice of youth that must be represented in city policy and recreation matters."

In 1990 when the YAB was formed, it held a "Battle of the Bands" event that eventually became The Last Fling, an annual program operated by the recreation department, Wassell noted. Current advisory board members also participate in mentoring local students, promoting Red Ribbon Week with prevention programs in local middle schools and holding a youth arts festival for the display of visual and performing arts created by local students.

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