Hampden Family Center, a resource for the less fortunate, temporarily closed because of financial troubles

BALTIMORE - A pillar of help in Hampden, the Hampden Family Center, is temporarily closed because of a lack of funding.

For the past 25 years, Hampden Family Center has provided youth, the elderly and those less fortunate with some essential services and programs.

But all of that is now in jeopardy because of the lack of funding.

"As far as we know, it's always been a great thing for the community and the area," said Jack Linthicum, of Old Bank Barbers

Along 36th Street, the Hampden Family Center is usually bustling with activities and help for the community.

"Hopefully, don't want to see what happens because I just think having a place that people can go to get necessities is extremely important," Linticum said. "I think the opposite needs to happen. We need to have more resources like that available to the community rather than less."

But now the place people go for help in Hampden is having financial troubles which they acknowledged on their website as they also hope for donations.

"I think it's extremely important to help that community than punish them," Linthicum said.  

And what the community is missing out on, at least temporarily, is classes for seniors to keep them moving, case work for anyone who needs it and something as simple as toiletries for those who may be homeless. 

"To have things like that at the core of it is what I think we need to start implicating more to have a healthy community," Linthicum said.

Just two months after celebrating 25 years of service to Hampden, the center's only hope is that the community steps up to help them and help others.