BERLIN—The Teen Center at St. Barnabas Church at the corner of Main and High Streets in Berlin has been a cool place to hang out and teens are doing their best to keep it that way.
Budget cutbacks forced Tri County CAP to close the Center, but a teen committee is working hard to raise money to keep the Teen Center alive.
The committee includes Alan Laflamme, ...
BERLIN—The Teen Center at St. Barnabas Church at the corner of Main and High Streets in Berlin has been a cool place to hang out and teens are doing their best to keep it that way.
Budget cutbacks forced Tri County CAP to close the Center, but a teen committee is working hard to raise money to keep the Teen Center alive.
The committee includes Alan Laflamme, Dakota Montminy, Adam Pelkey, Joshua Halley, Christian Judson, Leah Dion, Abby Bates, Tempest Gagnon, Shantel Gallagher and Alyssa Cantu.
Their first move was to compose a poster—"Help Save the Teen Center"—and to post it all over downtown Berlin.
The poster came to the attention of Cliff Scott, of the local band Duke, which was reassembling after some years off. When the band first formed, they used to practice at St. Barnabas, so they understood what a friend-in-need the church has been to teens with great plans.
Scott proposed that the Duke's planned "comeback concert," Sunday, at the Northern Forest Heritage Park, could be a fundraiser for the Teen Center. The teens as well as Tri County CAP personnel readily agreed. The concert raised a little more than $1,000 for the center. 
But that was just for starters.
The teen committee is planning bake sales. They're thinking about a dinner and silent auction. Maybe they'll do a car wash. They're tossing around several more ideas. They welcome input.
All this planning will have to be done during impromptu meetings because the doors officially closed on the Teen Center at St. Barnabas on Friday.
However, Teen Center manager Lynn Dion says they can meet at St. Barnabas. As volunteers, she and St. Barnabas Rector Fran Gardner-Smith have offered to help advise the youngsters, but it won't be quite the same.
For several years teens aged 13-19 who are still in school have been welcome at the Teen Center from 2:30 to 6 p.m. every school day and from 1-6 p.m. on vacation week days.
They could play games at the Play Station or Foosball at the Foosball bench. Several computers were available for Internet research or games or movies. Several tables with chairs were available for those who had homework to do. And there were also fruit drink, fruit and snacks and comfortable chairs to lounge in for conversation or reading.
The teens who came regularly understood that the Teen Center "is built upon four pillars: Caring, Responsibility, Honesty, Respect" and for some it became "like a family."
But now that family won't be there for them this summer and possibly longer, unless the teen committee and Tri County CAP have success in their search for funds.
"Whatever happens," says Dion sadly, "the Teen Center won't be open this summer, just when the teens could most use a place to feel at home and to chill out."
Those who would like to contribute to help save the Teen Center, can contact Tri County CAP at 30 Exchange Street, Berlin. The Teen Center is one of the Tri-County CAP Youth Alternatives Programs.
What happened to the funds that supported the Teen Center in the past?
"The Berlin Teen Center has lost what was usually a secured funding resource during this past year," said Kathy McKenna, director of volunteer programs for Tri County CAP.
"Incentive Funding, which is State Incentive money channeled through the Division of Children, Youth and Families to the counties, has undergone drastic changes," she continued.  "This ever dwindling pool of funds, to the point on non-existence today, was heavily counted on by the Teen Center.
"The Teen Center is a piece of the Youth Alternatives Program and although Youth Alternatives applied for funding for both components of their program only one was funded.  This was due to both fund availability and the fact that the Teen Center only serves a portion of the county," McKenna said.  
"Other smaller revenue line items including the City of Berlin, in-kind donations and fundraising fall extremely short of the required cost to operate the Center.
"Although some attempts to secure funding through other resources have been unsuccessful to date we are grateful to the NH Charitable Foundation and our sponsoring agency, Tri-County CAP for support this year," she said.
"We will be looking at restructuring the purpose and activities of the Teen Center during the summer months and apply for funding that will allow us to re-open next fall and offer the youth in our area more opportunities to engage in their own development and that of their community," McKenna concluded.

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