Lets Put On Some Film Shows for the Kids

This post makes only one (sort of) complaint against Devon Youth Services (DYS) and this relates to the age restrictions on the service they provide. I do understand that the 'clue' is in the inclusion of 'Youth' in the job description so, whilst disappointed, I see the reason for certain decisions.

DYS were encouraged by EPW to participate in the ‘regeneration’ of our community. Unfortunately, DYS’s remit is for 13-19 year olds, not a great deal of use in a community where 99% of children are aged under 13. There were occasions when local children, wanting to participate in DYS activities, were told they could not join in because they were ‘too young’.

DYS, working with EPW, organised film shows in Looe Road Park. These are, typically, trumpeted as a success by EPW. The truth is that they were a disaster. I raised £800, of the required £1,600, through Councillor Phil Brock’s Discretionary Fund, and he agreed to underwrite the other £800 if necessary. Exeter Housing Society (now Cornerstone) generously contributed £800 so there was no need to accept Councillor Brock’s additional offer of support. Once the funds had been raised no further consultation took place between EPW/DYS and our community representatives. The films were, apparently, selected by the 13-19 year olds that were permitted to attend DYS’s meetings in Looe Road Park. The selection of films, that were supposed to be for family viewing and would include many young children in the audience, were unsuitable and contained foul language. The films shown were –
Hot Fuzz – Rated 15
John Tucker Must Die – Rated PG13
Epic Movie – Rated PG
Night at the Museum – Rated PG
None of these films were appropriate for the majority of children that live in our community.
The film shows were arranged for a Wednesday night because DYS were unable to organise this event for the weekends. A noisy petrol generator was running until past 11pm some nights to power the projection equipment and this resulted in complaints from some residents that had to be up for work early the following day.

As a community we had no details of what films were to be shown, or when, until a few days before the first film show took place. A flyer produced and distributed by CF/EPW, advertising this event, was circulated to a very limited number of the community. Many residents received no notification which, given the ratings of the films, was fortunate. If our community had been consulted properly then the choice of films, and when they were shown, would have resulted in a more satisfactory outcome.
This was a concerted effort by CF/SDNP/SL/EPW to exclude any possible input from community reps that would have raised objections to the choice of films and when they would be shown.