The Boys and Girls Club of the Virgin Islands is hoping to reopen its Frederiksted club house and restart that club’s afterschool program with $20,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant Funding, Executive Director O’Neil Canton told the V.I. Legislature Thursday.
The Legislature met twice this week as a Committee of the Whole to take testimony on projects to be funded by the grants, which are aimed at charitable organizations that assist underserved populations.
Canton said the Frederiksted club has been closed for two years “due to lack of funds." The Boys and Girls Club maintains the building and it is ready to open, but the club has not been able to fund programs at the site, he said.
"Right now there are limited afterschool programs in the Frederiksted area," Canton said. Claude O. Markoe Elementary, with 300 students, has no afterschool programs, according to Canton. Arthur Richards Elementary has 426 students and no programs, and Evelyn Williams Elementary has a similar number. "That’s close to a thousand kids in three schools with no place to go for afterschool programs," he said.
The Boys and Girls Club in Christiansted has programs serving more than 300 area youth, and it recently got a computer lab through the V.I. Next Generation Network. "We are hoping to do the same at the Frederiksted club, but it’s hard to do that with the doors closed," Canton said.
The $20,000 would pay for the afterschool program but would not be enough to keep it open year-round, without more funding from additional sources, Canton said. "We don’t want to reopen it just to close it again," he said.
Sen. Terrence "Positive" Nelson asked how much was needed to reopen the Frederiksted club.
"Financially, about $140,000 per year," Canton said, adding that they also need personnel.
Sen. Nereida "Nellie" Rivera-O’Reilly asked Canton how he hoped to get the funding and if he received funding from the national office of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
"There are grants from the head office and there is definitely other assistance from there too," Canton said. But there is not enough and hard economic conditions have not helped donations. "It is difficult. I will be knocking on doors and talking to the private sector, getting people to realize the type of services we provide," he said.
"Everyone can make a difference. It doesn’t have to be a lot. It can be $10 per month from a regular Joe; it doesn’t have to all be from EDC companies," he said.
The Boys and Girls Club allotment was one of 17 projects selected for funding this year by the V.I. Housing Finance Authority, which oversees the CDBG program. The V.I. Legislature must authorize the grant expenditures.
This year’s V.I. CDBG grant allotment is $1.9 million – effectively unchanged from last year. Funding is divided evenly between the territory’s two districts.
Capital projects require and receive the largest individual grants. This year, the largest single grant is $300,000 to Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands to purchase No. 42 Kronprindsens Gade on St. Thomas for a soup kitchen and outreach center on St. Thomas.
The other St. Thomas projects this year include:
– $150,000 to the Family Resource Center to buy No. 2317 Comandant Gade and No. 18 for transitional housing for victims of domestic violence;
– $102,000 to the Family Resource Center to rehabilitate is main offices;
– $84,600 to the V.I. Economic Development Authority Enterprise Zone Commission to completely rehabilitate a historic home within the historic district of Savan. It will preserve one of the few remaining traditional West Indian vernacular cottage style homes and improve the living conditions of its occupants;
– $30,000 to the V.I. Resource Center for the Disabled for an afterschool tutorial and homework assistance program for 45 youths with disabilities;
– $30,000 to the Family Resource Center for a counseling program for youthful victims of domestic violence;
– $29,763 to Wesley Methodist Church St. Thomas/St. John Circuit for an afterschool program for about 55 youth;
– and $29,500 to St. Andrews Seek & Serve for an afterschool program for 55 youths at the Herbert E. Lockhart Memorial Hall in St. Andrews Church.
The St. Croix projects are:
– $210,000 to the Mon Bijou Homeowners Association to construct a community center;
– $200,000 to Catholic Charities of the Virgin Islands to go toward building a transitional living facility with 10 efficiency units for persons transitioning from homelessness and for CCVI’s soup kitchen and outreach center;
– $150,000 to V.I. Partners in Recovery to complete renovations at No. 181B Estate Richmond, which will be a transitional housing facility for people who have completed an addiction treatment program;
– $75,000 to the Women’s Coalition of St. Croix to begin the first of several phases of reconstructing its crisis center in Christiansted. Another $55,000 is slated to be reallocated from unused prior-year CDBG funds to the Women’s Coalition crisis center;
– $35,000 to Holy Ghost Deliverance Ministries for its afterschool program;
– $31,000 to the Mon Bijou Homeowners Association for its afterschool, summer enrichment and martial arts programs;
– $20,000 to Choices Basketball Academic Mentoring Program for an academic mentorship and basketball training program that offers SAT preparation, help applying for student aid and a positive environment;
– $20,000 to the aforementioned Boys and Girls Club afterschool program in Frederiksted;
– and $15,000 for the Women With Focus After School Nutrition Program, whose goal is to promote healthy living and to educate children and parents about the risks of obesity.
The CDBG program is supervised nationally by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which distributes CDBG funds to the states and territories. With HUD approval, local governments select projects and recipients from among qualified local nonprofit organizations. The CDBG money is spread about an array of nonprofit organizations and projects.
The V.I. Housing Finance Authority manages the CDBG program within the territory, with $378,000 of the CDBG money set aside to the VIHFA for administrative costs this year.
The Legislature will vote on approving the slate of projects during legislative session scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.