Clinic offers various services to the youth

On February 25, an Adolescent and Youth Friendly Services (AYFS) programme was held to help raise awareness of the various services provided by the Alra Park Clinic and their stakeholders for the community.

“We often find there is a stigma among the youth surrounding the services provided by the clinic,” said Sr Sindisile Msiza of the clinic.

“We want to use this opportunity to show the youth we are there to help them, not judge them.”

Schools like Alrapark Secondary School, Nigel Secondary School, Alrapark Primary School and Happiness Primary School all supported the programme on the day.

Representatives of the various stakeholders, such as Soul City Institution, Love Life, Siyanqoba, Bambanani, Ekupholeni, the City of Ekurhuleni, EMPD, the Department of Social Development, Flourish, Oratiloe, SANCA Alrapark and Jesus maak Nxa, all joined in on the day and spoke to the children and young adults present about their services.

The event was held at the Mackenzieville Community Hall and was focused on motivating the youth to make use of the services provided instead of resorting to other more dangerous ways of resolving their issues.

“Adolescence is an important stage in life,” said Sr Elana Bowker of the clinic.

“Our AYFS programme is tailored for young people to provide them with ongoing support through the various services and the help of our stakeholders.

“We want to aim to engage with our youth and decrease risky behaviour.”

The clinic will prioritise youth Monday to Friday from 14:00 to 16:00.

“We have made it a priority to be available to our youth during these hours to help curb absence from school as well,” Msiza said.

“Many children miss school when they need to visit the clinic, and this way we can help curb that problem.”
Topics such as health and safety, drug abuse, mental health issues and teenage pregnancies were discussed with the youth as part of the programme.