Cash-strapped Mirrors’ bosses have deferred their residential programme as they search for a less expensive venue a decision branded “catastrophic for our young people” by former assistant coordinator Tory Darrell.Another Mirrors’ volunteer has pledged to launch a fund-raising campaign for the beleaguered programme to go ahead as soon as possible.Organisers had planned to use the on-site conference centre of the doomed Willowbank hotel for the annual initiative for 15- to 18-year-olds.But the Ministry of Youth, Families and Sports yesterday released a statement saying: “The Ministry is considering its options in looking for a more cost-effective facility for the residential element of the programme.”“The timing of this is terrible,” Mr Darrell said. “We have children already starting to be enrolled who are being told there’s no programme, and we have volunteers who have given up a lot of their time.”Mr Darrell, who is now a consultant for Mirrors, said he’s the first Bermudian to get qualified for his level of training.He recently finished coaching the enrolment team for the upcoming residential session, and called the more isolated Willowbank “perfect” for the intensive residential training.“At any other hotel, our presence would be too disruptive.”Mirrors, which has been repeatedly heralded for turning around the lives of young men and women since its launch in 2007, encourages young people to work one-on-one with adult mentors from the community to give them direction in their lives.About 100 volunteers and young people take part in the residential sessions.However, Mirrors was one of the victims of sweeping Budget cuts in February and was allocated $1.7 million for this fiscal year, a drop of 34 percent on last year. The June residential session was already cancelled as a result.Describing the programme as “extremely financially astute”, Mr Darrell said he felt Government’s decision to cut back was a mistake.“There are other places in Government where this money could come from,” he said.“Too often on this Island, the youth get sacrificed, when they’re the group that’s most at risk.”He added: “What’s disappointing is that the Mirrors programme is one of the most prudent financial arrangements in Government. When I worked there, we shopped around tremendously to get the best deals possible.”Mr Darrell also expressed uncertainty that the residential programme would continue next year.“The timing of this leaves me with no confidence to say what could happen next year,” he said. “If they do, that’s great. But I don’t know.”Mirrors’ volunteer Kerry Judd last night admitted there was no chance of salvaging the November residential, but vowed to raise money from the private sector to ensure that it goes ahead in the first quarter of 2012.“A year is a long time in the life of anybody,” she said. “We can’t afford to wait that long.”Calling herself “frustrated and angry”, Ms Judd said she had written to Premier Paula Cox yesterday urging her to search among the Ministries for funds to divert.She said that as the founding trustee of the New Beginning Education Trust, she was well-placed to join with others in appealing for private donations.Yesterday’s press release said Mirrors is continuing with its Coaching for Success series, which focuses on middle school students.“The Ministry hopes to schedule future residential programmes for the 15 to 18 age group in the next fiscal year,” it added.Earlier this month, Mirrors programme coordinator Kimberley Jackson told The Royal Gazette the closure of Willowbank would not leave the residential programme without a home.“We have been given permission to continue to use the conference centre. We have been told it’s going to continue to be rented out as a venue for local events,” said Ms Jackson at that time.Ms Jackson could not be reached for comment after the Ministry’s statement was released yesterday.Shadow Youth Minister Donte Hunt called the cancellation of November’s initiative “simply devastating”.“Frustration sets in when one examines Government’s gross mismanagement of the public purse over the last 13 years,” he added.Mr Hunt said money lost in cost overruns on projects like the Dockyard pier, spent on consultants or on “questionable travel, such as the Transport Minister’s excursion to NASA in July to witness the lift off of the space shuttle Atlantis, could have been invested into supporting the development of our youth”.