City Life Center after-school program in Gary, Indiana, facing funding crisis
A community lifeline in northwest Indiana is at risk. The head of City Life Center in Gary said urgent support is needed, and without it, they'll be closing.
For more than 60 years, City Life Center has provided a safe haven for Gary children after school. The program serves up to 120 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. They receive meals and tutoring.
Now, very soon, a lack of state and federal funding could impact the services young people receive from the center.
"We are right now going week by week as far as financing is concerned. So, as we get donors, as different things come in, we're trying to just make payroll every two weeks," said City Life Center executive director Dr. Joshua Austin.
Sixty percent of the center's yearly operating budget of more than $800,000 comes from state and federal funding, according to Austin. Arts, culinary, job training, and after-school programs used to be provided for free, but now parents have to pay $100 a month for each child.
"There are a lot of families in this area that just can't afford that," Austin said.
With the future of the program uncertain, parents relying on it are now left wondering what's next.
Linda Hines not only volunteers at City Life Center, three of her children have attended its programs over the past two decades.
"It's served as a safe net and a place of family and comfort for them," she said.
If two of her children were to be without the program, she said, "You have to figure out meals and figure out where to place them, because everything they're comfortable with is lost."
Families who rely on services at City Life Center are not alone in preparing for what's next. The program employs 29 people from the Gary community.
"It means a lot, I think, economically in this community, because families are really struggling here. Not only do we employ adults, but I think it's really important that we provide youths apprenticeships. So, these are paid positions," said director of development Rhonda Miller.
Previously run by the YMCA and then the Boys and Girls Clubs, City Life Center's executive director had a message for anyone who has the means to keep the facility's doors open in the years to come.
"You're going to be a part of molding and shaping young people to be their best selves. You're not just investing in these kids now, but you're investing in the future of America," Austin said.