Saving CYTO

Helen Clarke
Guest

/ #63

2011-03-15 00:32

#30: Emma Lundy - CYTO

many young people of croydon have found solace in abundance at a place called CYTO - croydon youth theatre organisation. tucked away, i’ve been a member for 6, going on 7 years now, from when i was 13 up to 20.

croydon’s teenagers need CYTO, and places like it. i’ve seen hundreds of kids, many of them from criminal or broken homes, walk through it’s doors with the weight of the world on their shoulders, and immediately fall in with the amazing tutors, and other members, all struggling with their own lives, families, bodies and thoughts. they get to dance, sing, act, tech and design - and this ain’t no glee club. it’s therapy.

the fact CYTO is arts based is neither here nor there. it's a brilliant, nurturing home for young people first and foremost.

no one is turned away, no one gets left behind. it’s been my home for the entirety of my teenage years, and it’s everything to me. it’s everything to all of us.

it's the very beating heart of Croydon.

if anyone happens to be reading this, please, we're begging you, keep CYTO open.