Parents have been left gutted after an after-school club was suddenly cancelled leaving dozens of children without anywhere else to go.
Volunteers at the Boys’ Brigade, run by Shoebury and Thorpe Bay Baptist Church, located on Thorpedene Gardens, received the news the club was cancelled on Monday.
The club provides a safe place for children from the ages of four to teens to the age of 18 to attend and have fun, and its leader confirmed in a letter to parents on Tuesday the club was closed with "immediate effect."
Kimberly Stevens, 38, from Shoebury, said her son Max Robertson, 10, who is a member of the brigade, has been left heartbroken and confused over the surprise closure.
She said: “The club has been a constant in his life since he was four years old. Not only is it a place where he feels safe, he was thriving, but that's been taken away from him now.
“The children will now not get the opportunity to say goodbye.
“Max is upset. He doesn't understand why this decision has been made. He doesn't understand why he cannot say goodbye to the leaders and his peers.”
“I would have liked to think these adults would have considered the emotional impact shutting down a club with no warning would have on these children.”
Debbie Howchen, who was a volunteer for the Brigades for the last 17 years, added the closure will affect the friendships of those who attended and will leave 21 children without a place to go.
She said: “I’m very sad. I was completely shocked and upset, I’ve worked there as a volunteer for 17 years.
“Some of the kids don’t have other clubs, it’s the only club they go to. We had 21 juniors and now they have nowhere to go.”
The club contains children divided by age group, consisting of anchors (infant school), juniors (junior school), company (years seven to ten), and seniors (years ten to 13).
Faye Webb, 42, from Southend, said her son, Jacob, 16, has been attending since he was four and they were shocked to see the club go.
She said: “It’s odd to say about a youth club, but this one has always not felt like a club, it’s felt like an extension of our home.
“I feel absolutely let down, this really came out of the blue.”
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