Okaihau's teenage 'hang out joint' was once a thriving playcentre. Picture / supplied
Okaihau's teenage 'hang out joint' was once a thriving playcentre. Picture / supplied
Okaihau's playcentre went into recess in December but Rebecca Anderson, whose children were the last to be enrolled there, had hoped it would resume at some point when more families arrived in the community.
Those hopes have faded somewhat, however, thanks to the damage done, inside the buildings and out,that Anderson blamed on young people who had been using it as a "hang out joint".
The damage was discovered last month and significantly more had been done since then, she said. Three Okaihau College students had arrived at the playcentre while the police were there, but denied any responsibility for the damage.
Rooms had been trashed, holes punched in walls, doors ripped off and windows smashed. On a subsequent visits Anderson found lit candles and two students on the premises.
Evidence of drug use was also found and Anderson had seen what she described as "disturbing writing" on paper and on walls.
"You can tell it's kids who wrote it, but how do they comprehend or understand the things they are writing about? It really is worrying," she said.
There had been talk of redeveloping the facility as a youth centre, which she said would be "amazing'', but a lot of work would have to be done before it could be used for anything.
