Tillsonburg is asking for youth opinions through survey

Tillsonburg’s first Youth Advisory Committee members in one of their meetings. Committee members asked council to launch a survey of the town’s youth, which is currently underway. The initial committee members have aged out and new members will soon be sought. (Contributed Photo).

By Jeff Helsdon

Editor

Tillsonburg council members are hoping to help cure a common affliction striking teenagers and youth.

Although there isn’t a name for this issue, the common symptoms include boredom and repeatedly saying, “There’s nothing to do in town.”

There is a serious side to this light-hearted overview of a common situation, as Tillsonburg’s Youth Advisory Committee recommended a survey be taken of the town’s youth, asking what activities they participate in, what activities they would like to see, their input on youth spaces, shopping, wellness, arts and culture, and barriers. Town council adopted that recommendation in June, and the survey was subsequently launched.

Coun. Chris Parker brought forward the concept for the youth committee during the last term of council.

“After having some conversations with the founder of the Youth Council Coalition of Canada, I thought that this would be a great program for the town to adopt to focus on the youth of our community and have them engaged in municipal governance, and also a way for them to gain volunteer hours towards their high-school requirements,” Parker said.

The first meeting was in June 2023. Parker and Coun. Kelly Spencer were appointed as the council representatives to the committee. Spencer’s son, Liam Spencer-Enright, was chair of the committee.

“We talked about doing a survey to get more youth involved,” Spencer said. “We started brainstorming in areas where the youth thought there were gaps.”

She added that the survey was tweaked over several meetings.

“This survey will be a very helpful tool for council to understand some gaps that we may not necessarily see in our community,” Parker said. “I encourage all youth who are the applicable age to fill out the survey and give feedback back to people who may not always see things through a younger perspective.”

His hope is to gather as much information as possible from the youth so that it can be integrated into future decisions.

Spencer also hopes the survey will help remedy the situation by collecting information.

“ One of the topics that came back is we are a highly sports orientated town, but what about youth who don’t play sports,” Spencer said.

She mentioned youths who enjoy hunting and fishing, or those who prefer gaming, suggesting a gaming night at the complex to bring the latter group together.

“One of the key parts is ensuring youth know they have a voice at the table, that they can speak and will be heard,” Spencer said.

“This committee has helped me with understanding some of the programming gaps that we have inside of our recreation programming and not just being sports oriented,” Parker said.

The survey is open until Aug. 15, and is available online at https://www.tillsonburg.ca/news/youth-survey-opens/

Committee members needed

The committee is seeking new members, as the current members have graduated from high school.

“It’s a great opportunity to increase your leadership skills,” Spencer said. “It’s going to look good on resumes or school applications.”

“The Youth Advisory Committee is a great opportunity to engage with leaders in the community and provide feedback and ideas on projects or future projects in the community,” Parker said.

Both councillors saw big changes in the youth since the committee started in June 2023.

“The youth really opened up and took on a leadership role on the committee,” Parker said. “Where the first few meetings were very adult-led, it transitioned into the youth leading and directing the committee.”

“It was such a great joy to see the growth in these kids. There’s a big difference between 15, 16 and 17, 18 and 19,” Spencer said. “They slowly became more vocal and by the end they were sharing thoughts and feelings. It was pretty awesome to watch.”

Watch the Tillsonburg website for announcements about the youth committee membership.