Kingswood Youth Center

When I started going to the Kingswood Youth Center I was kind of a troubled kid, I guess you could put it. I didn’t really have the best family life, I was always getting in trouble with my friends, We needed something to do after school. So we started going to the Kingswood Youth Center

It was a great place to go to talk to somebody. The whole staff was very knowledgeable and very helpful. I came in and there was a group of probably twelve of us and we started going to the youth center because we had a rough home life, and we just needed a break and someplace to hang out and talk. Then after a while, we became the people that the younger kids would come and talk to for advice to stay out of trouble. So they started a youth mentoring program. It was a great asset to me because I feel better about myself when I can help other people to feel better about themselves, and I just love to do it.

Today I’m a full time firefighter/EMT for the town of Farmington. I have my wonderful wife, and a beautiful baby boy, and I’m going to school at the Lakes Region Community College for a Fire Science two-year Associates Degree program. I couldn’t have gotten that without my start at the youth center.

They set great examples for kids to follow, I took a bunch of that with me and I use it to deal with people now. All the staff at the youth center was very accepting, very caring, and they were willing to give you a chance, which is what kids need.