Ashton Community Trust - New Lodge Youth Centre

New Lodge Youth Centre is a voluntary youth centre based in the Greater New Lodge area of North Belfast. The youth centre moved from BELB management to Ashton Community Trust community management in April 2012. Since then we have worked hard to increase programme delivery and maximise the overall potential of the Centre by ensuring greater accessibility and usage by local young people. We provide a range of programmes for young people during the week and at the weekend that are designed to help them grow and develop.

Junior Club: The Junior Club provides a range of age appropriate personal development programmes as well drop-in provision from Monday to Thursday for junior members aged 5 – 7 years from 6-7pm and for junior members aged 8 – 11 years from 7-8.30pm.

Activities include:

• Arts and crafts
• Gaming
• Cookery
• Healthy lifestyles
• Sports development, e.g. football, pool, team games, swimming.
• Learning about safety – internet, road and first aid
• Learning about my community

Senior Youth Club: The senior drop-in provides a range of projects and programmes delivered for young people of secondary school age from Monday to Thursday, 8.30-10pm and Friday 6-9pm, Saturday 2 – 5pm and Sunday 6 – 9pm. In addition a midnight club operates on a Friday evening 9pm until midnight for young people aged 14+ years. Activities for seniors include:

• History and culture programmes
• Community relations and cross community initiatives
• Local and national residential workshops
• International exchanges Global awareness programmes
• Active citizenship community initiatives
• Arts and crafts
• Gaming Sports development – football, pool, team games, swimming, gym, street games
• Health and wellbeing – drug awareness, sexual health, healthy eating and cookery

Street Outreach: Staff and volunteers from New Lodge Youth Centre also facilitate street outreach in partnership with other agencies.