Contributed by Krista Bouchey of the Funhouse
During the Teen Night Meeting last Wednesday, June 23, we opened up the discussion with our proposed questions:
- Do parents see teen night as a safe option?
- If not, what can we do to make it safe and appealing? Check in/out system?
- Lock in? Do teens see teen night as safe and fun?
- How do we get them involved?
- Is the current middle school policy working?
- Should parents be more or less involved in teen night? How can we get them to participate?
Additional concerns that were brought up were:
- The Funhouse being used as an ‘alibi’ location while teens actually went elsewhere
- drug and alcohol use during teen night hours.
Ideas generated at the meeting that we are considering implementing include:
- a check in/out system accompanied by parent contact information
- a parent/teen contract or first time registration to ensure that teens and parents are all in agreement to the rules at the Funhouse
- more extensive lighting around the building
We will also be encouraging more parent involvement/volunteers and more activities to engage parents and teens.
To contact the Funhouse, go to www.TheFunhouse.org or call 376-7177.
I greatly appreciate the Funhouse staff, who are actively engaged in making the facility both attractive to teens and within the comfort zone of their parents. It is a fine line to walk and I applaud their efforts.
Hilary Canty