Youth get a say at Penyfai PACT
Penyfai PACT meetings have been given a breath of fresh air with the introduction of two new faces at the monthly meetings. Siobhan Foster, 16 and Natalie Davies, also 16 have started to attend the meetings to get their voices heard about issues that matter to them in their community.
PCSO Chris Bowen, who is the police representative of the meetings, stated “the girls really do bring a fresh look on the idea of the PACT meeting. They are able to give a voice to the youth of the area, and comment and debate about issues involving them.” Kevin Brady, the chair of Penyfai Pact agreed, stating that “the girls provide a brilliant input, and we would definately welcome more youths to the meeting”.
The main issue that has been raised by the girls is the lack of youth provision in the area, forcing them to stand out on the streets. The girls say that their behaviour is not anti-social, and stated that “a lot of residents have an issue with group intimidation, but so do we! Our group is very sensible and sometimes we get a bit frightened of people we don’t know. If there was somewhere for us all to go we could make more friends and not have to hang around the streets at night”.
As commitment to the PACT grows from the girls, it will hopefully result in a new member of the panel to guide and debate in the meetings about the issues of the community.
The next Penyfai PACT meeting will be held on the 5th of December at the Smyrna chapel, Penyfai.