Good Day CFS Past, Present and Future Families,
It is with a heavy heart that we made a decision last night to lock the Children First Playground after our business hours. This decision was made after much consideration to ensure the safety and well-being of the children in the programs.
Every day the staff deal with issues such as human feces, slashed canvas tents, and broken equipment; not to mention the endless amounts of garbage, graffiti, and broken toys. Over the past two days, our security cameras found a group of people hanging out in the park from 4:00 am – 6:00 am. They smashed two boards on the back deck (making it unsafe for the children to use until it is repaired), threw rocks at the solar panels, and damaged toys and play items that the children use daily.
We know many families with young children have enjoyed the space after hours and on weekends. We were determined to leave the playground open for the community to access, unfortunately, this has become impossible. These acts have caused the area to be unsafe for the children, taken a toll on our budget, and have caused a negative impact on the mental health of the staff and children.
As a solution, locks were placed on both exterior playground gates. These will remain in place when the playground is not utilized by our programs.
Respectfully,
Children First Society
