THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 4, 1996 TAG: 9512300182
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines
Teenager Russell Branch spends nearly every afternoon shooting hoops at the Campostella Boys and Girls Club.
For Branch and some 260 youths, the facility is a positive alternative to the streets. But their haven may be on borrowed time.
After nearly closing in December, the club is now operating at reduced capacity and may be completely shut down by the end of February.
``I use the club to stay out of trouble,'' Branch said when he heard the site may close. ``A lot of the kids might go somewhere else and be getting into something negative if it closes.''
Federal funding for the facility ended Dec. 31. The club is now running on a shoe-string budget provided by the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Hampton Roads, an organization that operates five clubs on the South Side.
It's a kind of ``robbing Peter to pay Paul'' situation, said Web Gould, the group's executive director.
``We were reluctant to just walk out on this facility, so we decided to find the money at least through February,'' Gould said. ``We'll be meeting with area residents soon to discuss possible solutions. We need staff volunteers.''
The club is in the former Tucker Elementary School at 2300 E. Berkley Ave. near the Diggs Park and Oakleaf Forest public housing communities. Because of the center's proximity to federally funded public housing, it qualifies for Department of Housing and Urban Development money that is distributed locally by the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority. With the uncertainty of the federal budget, it isn't known whether any money will be provided for 1996.
``We're optimistic that the Senate will vote to maintain the funding, but we won't know for sure until the logjam in Washington is over,'' said Andrea Bear, NRHA's assistant executive director for administrative operations.
Using funds from its drug elimination program, HUD provided Norfolk with a little more than a million dollars in 1995, and the Campostella club received about $85,000 of that.
More than 80 youngsters, ages 6-17, come to the club every day. Running at a reduced capacity means shortened hours and limited activities. Use of the gymnasium and a homework classroom assistance program will continue. Game room and teen center functions will be cut back.
``This is a very popular club, and if we left the area the kids would suffer,'' said Kevin Yearwood, director of operations for the Boys and Girls Clubs of South Hampton Roads. ``We have a stake in this community. ... We're in the kid business.''
But another obstacle may be ahead. The Norfolk Public School system was leasing part of the former Tucker Elementary School to the club for utility costs only. In August the school system needed some of the club's space for an alternative high school program for troubled students who have dropped out or been expelled. The school system may need more space for the program, and, if so, the club may be left with too little area to operate effectively.
``If the federal monies come we will provide the funding probably at the same amount as last year,'' Bear said, ``but we have no solution if there's a space problem.''
Gould said that there is no finger pointing.
``Nobody is a bad guy here,'' he explained. ``The school system has been very accommodating to the club, but they needed space for those kids. The big question is whether the money is coming from the federal budget. We can keep the club going for two more months, but beyond that is uncertain.'' by CNB