The Tribune

The Bahamas of today is faced with many challenges, especially as it relates to youth and families. This is made obvious almost every day as we turn on our televisions, listen to the radio or read the local newspapers. Crime, abuse and domestic violence unfortunately dominate our headlines.

It is against this background that Pastor Dr Dave Burrows is set to officially open the Youth and Family Centre, located Bakers Close in Oakes Field, tonight at 7.30 pm.

The youth and family centre is designed as a place where both young people and families can get help with critical issues and challenges.

Dr Dave Burrows serves as the overseer and Winston Penn manages the centre full-time, assisted by administrative assistant Kendra Bowe along with a number of other programme contributors including Burton Lockhart, Randy Cunningham, Pastor Angie Burrows and Davrielle Burrows.

The Youth and Family Centre serves as the headquarters for several initiatives, including the Simpson Penn Boys to Men Mentoring, Winners Touch Mentoring and Life Coaching, Young Champions Boys Club and the Family and Parenting programmes.

The services of the Youth and Family Centre include:

• School suspension programme

• Drug prevention and counselling

• Sex, dating and relationship management seminars

• Conflict resolution

• Counselling for youth, family and marriages

• Mentoring and life coaching for kids and young adults

• Parental counselling and classes

The centre features a meeting room, office, computer lab and multimedia centre designed to maximise learning and counselling opportunities. Office hours are 9am to 2pm, but the centre is open for additional hours by appointment. The Youth and Family Centre is a local non-profit organisation and currently subsist primarily on donations.

The centre currently partners with many local schools as well as the Ministry of Education, the local courts and a number of churches who refer students and parents to the facility.

Dr Burrows has a long although less pronounced ministry to families. He and his wife, Angela Burrows, have served as counsellors to singles contemplating marriage, married persons seeking relationship counselling and to parents providing advice on raising children. They have also mediated many sessions for parents and teens helping to resolve conflicts and bring clarity and resolution. In addition, the Burrows have raised two children of their own and several informally adopted children from early childhood to young adult and adulthood.

Dr Burrows has served as a conference speaker on family issues in many local and international venues in the Bahamas, the United States, Europe and Africa, and has served as advisor to the Family Life and Health Committee, a national committee appointed to advise the Bahamas government on curriculum development for family life and health.

For further information persons may contact the centre at 328-5538, 327-0105 or via e-mail at thewinnerstouch@gmail.com, simpsonpennboysiimen@gmail.com or pastordaveburrows@hotmail.com.