OVERCOMING OBSTACLES KEY TO DEVELOPING BOYS AND GIRLS CLUBS IN REGION

HAYTI -- Youth in four Southeast Missouri counties may soon have what former Missouri state legislator Jacqueline McGee believes they need the most: A place to go.

McGee, a Hayti native and former Kansas City state representative, was appalled to see when she returned home four years ago that nothing had changed.

"Youth were playing in the streets and hanging out at night, but there were no organized activities for them," she said. "They weren't finishing school, they couldn't find jobs -- they had nothing."

McGee is leading an effort to get youth ages 6-18 in Dunklin, Pemiscot, New Madrid and Mississippi counties out of their homes, off the streets and into the Boys and Girls Club of Southeast Missouri. She has been working to develop the organization for more than a year.

The organization, which is already active in Hayti and Hayti Heights, is well on its way after receiving $50,000 in seed money from the national organization.

"The national office is excited about chartering a club in the southeast corner of Missouri," said regional Fred Paulke, who visited towns throughout the Bootheel Thursday and Friday and is helping to get the local organization chartered. "I'm excited by what I've seen down here. There is such a need here and just a wonderful spirit of people who are committed to success."

The Boys and Girls Club is a place kids can go after school so they can get off the streets. The organization has been successful because it offers a variety of activities and tries to give kids the best, Paulke said.

Consistency is also important, and kids know that it will be open when it's supposed to be, he said.

"We offer a wealth of collaboration to change kids lives," said Paulke. "We know we're doing something right if the place is full. If it isn't, we're doing something wrong."

The local organization will be run by a board of directors which includes members from each participating county. The hub of the organization is in Hayti, where board meetings are held. After the other county organizations are up and running, meetings will be held throughout the region. Each participating town is encouraged to find its own facility to host group activities.

"We're not trying to reinvent the wheel," said board chairperson Louise Tipler. "We want to collaborate and coordinate with existing programming."

McGee said the organization's biggest challenges will be the distance within the four-county area, and the under-utilized or lack of resources in participating towns. These obstacles can be overcome, she said. In fact, they must be overcome to save the region's greatest resource, said McGee.

"We don't have time to deliberate about the issues," she said. "We know there's a problem, we know there's a need. Now we have to do something about it."