The Haverhill Boys and Girls Club is taking steps to help its members’ collective “mental wellbeing” by working around COVID-19 restrictions that have, up to now, kept youth trapped at home.
Club Executive Director Javier Bristol, appearing on WHAV’s morning program Tuesday, says the organization is entering a collaboration with the Haverhill YMCA
“What we’ll be doing is providing a space for teens to have access to our computer labs. And the way that this will be set up is they’ll be following all public health guidelines, and it will essentially be appointment only setups with 45-minute blocks, giving us 15 minutes to disinfect the space to get everything really cleaned up. And really what it is, is kind of an opportunity for the teens to get out of their home, to get in a private setting and be able to call on their guidance counselor to be able to get homework help, to just really prepare and talk to people about any issues that they are having throughout this crisis, and really doing it in a comfort of a space they are used to such as the Boys and Girls Club and the YMCA,” Bristol says.
Bristol says the Haverhill Boys and Girls Club also wants to play a role in feeding youth this summer.
“We are working on adding another value to the community and that is providing dinners this summer to kind of go in line with the breakfasts and lunches that the schools have been and will continue to serve. I’m making everyone aware that now and I’ll provide more details on the next meeting, but we will be adding a component this summer to help serve the youth,” he adds.
Bristol says teens looking to sign up for private 45-minute computer times, available starting Monday, should contact either the Haverhill Boys and Girls Club, or the Haverhill YMCA.