DENHAM SPRINGS – Information about the Denham Springs area, its youth and their needs, is being collected in an effort to establish a Boys & Girls Club in the city.

The community recovery coordinator for Denham Springs, Jeanette Clark, told a meeting Thursday night at City Hall that the information collection is now underway.

But help is needed to meet the goal of having all data needed by the end of October, Clark said.

The Boys & Girls Club has an 18-page assessment for groups interested in starting a club, she said.

“How to Determine the Need for a Boys & Girls Club in Your Community” says, “The need for a Boys & Girls Club in a community, county, and/or neighborhood is based largely upon local socioeconomic conditions.”

The assessment requires information on the youth population, public recreational facilities, private groups that may serve local youth, the number of boys and girls being served and not being served, the rate of juvenile delinquency, extent of poverty in the community and the drop-out rate.

Clark said the two areas of the assessment needing help now involve listing organizations that provide services to youth – number of members, hours per week available to youth, budget spent on youth – and the funding base of the community – top 10 employers and civic groups and individuals who have demonstrated their support of youth programs.

Mary Stringfellow, who attended the meeting representing the Girls Scouts, said she could provide information on that group.

Cpl. Keith Scoby, of the Denham Springs Police Department, who works with the six schools in the city, said he could research the data needed about juvenile delinquency and school support.

Clark said after the assessment is complete, she will ask the Capital Region Planning Commission to review it before it is submitted to the Boys & Girls Club.

Clark said the next meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, at City Hall to see what assessment information has been collected.

The idea of a Boy & Girls Club came from the health and social service subcommittee of Denham Strong, the volunteer group developing long-term projects to help the city recover from the Great Flood of 2016.