Center cuts reduce coverage

The Orange County Family Resource Centers has provided after-school programs to local children for 18 years, but now budget cuts have decreased the services the group can offer.

The organization — which has four locations in Chapel Hill that offer parent education classes, parent-to-parent support groups and educational programs for children — has had to cut programs and staff members.

At the same time, budget cuts at UNC have made it harder for student volunteers to man the classrooms.

The center’s after-school program for elementary age students is held in three locations Monday through Thursday — one day less than last year. Alesia Sanyika, program coordinator for Orange County Family Resource Centers, said that’s because budget cuts forced organizers to cut a day.

She said the centers are also understaffed after six part-time workers were cut.

“We serve about 51 kids at three locations—at South Estes, Dobbins Hill and Trinity/Pritchard Park,” said Sanyika. “The problem is we only have two full-time staff.”

The Family Resource Centers have also cut their middle school after-school care program because of funding issues.

“We’ve been around all these years, and last spring we were notified that the middle school program was being cut statewide,” Long said.

The center’s budget comes from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Resources’ division of Social Services — which has handed down the cuts. They receive funding from other local sources as well.

The APPLES program, a University service-learning group, provided volunteers for the centers’ middle school programs, but with the program cut, APPLES has had to find different volunteering opportunities.

The Helping Youth by Providing Enrichment program at the University provides tutors for low-income children and has worked with the center for 10 years.

But in the face of University budget cuts, the organization is now providing tutors to two locations instead of all three.

“It’s really unfortunate because (Family Resource Centers) provide a lot of services to the kids and the community, and they really make a difference,” said Rochelle Maignan, a junior at UNC and co-chair of HYPE.

“HYPE usually provides transportation to the volunteers, but with budget cuts from the University, we don’t receive payment or reimbursement for the driver anymore.”

Though the group has a van, most volunteers are not 21, the minimum age to drive it.

Last school year, UNC contributed more than 1,000 hours and 91 volunteers to the after-school programs, Sanyika said.

Karen Long, director of Orange County Family Resource Centers, said the groups hope to maintain last year’s numbers, but she understands if they decrease because the number of programs has decreased.

“We get about five UNC volunteers a day and about one or two high school kids a day,” Sanyika said.

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