ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. () — Several folks have complained that the youth in Beaufort and on the Sea Islands are turning to bad paths because they have no healthy resources or activities to do.

 A new community center was designed to do just that, and they have already seen a positive change.

“Theres nothing for kids to do around here. That’s why I feel like they getting in trouble and we’re getting killed because you don’t got nothing to do, and we don’t got nobody trying to help us get stuff done,” said one teen who has lived on St. Helena all his life.

An old spirit store now turned community center has given the youth a safe outlet. That’s what community organizer, Jindia Blount, better known as ‘Mama Smoke’ to the kids, said, has been her goal since opening the program in 2023.

“It’s the issues that are going to impact these children, which is where I kind of come in at because I kind of advocate for them,” said Blount.

She said moving here made her notice the lack of recreational activities. With the center, the hope is to provide those activities, and resources to help the younger generation succeed.

“Some of these kids, like someone like me, we don’t live inside the same homes as our parents, or we might be inside single parent households,” said a teen apart of the youth program. “We need help within school.”

Blount said they offer after-school mentoring and tutoring, help with scholarships and fundraising and lots of fun hangouts.

“It’s been dance, boxing clinics, there’s been kids’ movie nights, there has been food giveaways,” said another teen apart of the youth program. “There’s been a lot of things recently going on in the community.”

The center not only helps the youth, but they host workshops for the elderly, veterans and aspiring entrepreneurs. Blount said they’re still in their first steps with this center, but the hope is to eventually expand into other areas in need.