On a daily basis, you will hear adults talking about what our city could improve, what we need the most or less, but you never hear the young people.
Every news outlet, social media platform and even newspaper has verbalized ideas and thoughts on what our community could use and what could help improve the needs of our residents.
Many ideas have been started in the city that benefit older generations, including various types of services, activities and events.
The challenge is that all of these opinions are based on what this demographic prioritizes but never meets the wants and needs of the “next generations” in our community.
Statistical information has shown that the exodus of young people from the Sault has been a chronic problem for years. SaultOnline chose to dig a little deeper into what is being done to retain our city’s younger population.
When asked about the shortcomings of our community, many teens we spoke with shared the same opinion. They cite the lack of career opportunities, activities and entertainment as the main reasons why they eventually choose to migrate out of town. These departures, however, leave our community with a significant decrease in educated young people to hire as the aging population prepares for retirement.
Talking to Emily, a student at St Mary’s College, about the problem, she said that setting up different jobs or clubs that people can join to find another job would be beneficial.
“I think the lack of career opportunities would cause Sault Ste. Marie to leave and seek other employment opportunities, and the population will decrease,” Emily said. “I think something that could help is to create job fairs, clubs and groups where people can join to find other job opportunities that they may not know about in the industry. city.”
SaultOnline has chosen to use only students’ first names as they are minors and we want to keep their identities private.
In the summer there are a few small activities and events here and there which have proven somewhat appealing to the younger generation. Events such as the Soo Pee Wee Carnival (Campbell Amusements) are seen as a good way to attract the younger generation and give them something to do. However, speaking with others, having more outdoor activities and a small theme park with different attractions could be very beneficial to our community.
Others said that as our seasons change, having more indoor games and youth centers like arcades can give teens and young adults the chance to have fun with friends in a different environment.
Our reporter also spoke to Romi, another student from St Mary’s College, and Evan, a student from Korah Colligiate. Both said having more entertainment venues and activities would benefit our community.
“I always felt like there was a lack of fun in our community, like trampoline parks, arcades and event centers that are open year-round,” Romi said.
“A go-kart track would be nice because there’s nothing like it in Sault and it would be a nice addition to the community,” Evan said.
Heidi I, a local citizen, remembers when the Sault had an amusement park, which boasted an arcade, go-kart track and mini-golf course.
“I believe it was called the Great Northern Fun Park. I had a great time there. It was always packed every time I attended and I don’t know why it closed.
Stick with SaultOnline/ONNTV as we continue to bring you a different, younger perspective on our community news.
