The company invited the so-called troublemakers for food and drink in the centre to ask them why they were hanging around the shops. When the comp-any discovered it was because they had nowhere else to go, it set up the Washington Youth Group. Since the group started meeting, police statistics show that reported youth nuisance and criminal damage in the shopping centre has fallen by 70 per cent.
Community work
The group quickly outgrew its original premises and is now based at the Ayton Community Centre, where it meets weekly for a variety of activities including issue-based sessions on sexual health, drugs and alcohol awareness.
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