Improving Economy May Force Elk Grove Teen Center To Close Its Doors
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — The future is uncertain for a community center that works with underprivileged teens as the improving economy may force the Elk Grove Teen Center to close because it can't find enough poor students.
Nearly 400 teens hang out at the teen center before and after school, but because a new survey shows a majority of them are no longer living in poverty, the building may soon close.
For 25 years, the center has provided a safe place to keep teens like Jordan Rousselle out of trouble.
"I just have something to do after school; I'd probably be off doing something dumb if i wasn't here," he said.
"A lot of these young people here don't think they have a hope or a future and they think by the time they're 18 it's all over for them, so our goal is to give them that hope and that future," said director Russ Croco.
But now the teen center's future is uncertain.
"It's a catch-22," said board member Mark Lepp. "Great things are happening here and we're really excited but at the same time we've got to figure out what to do with our building."
Their current building was purchased with a federal community development grant, and a majority of that money must be spent on helping poor families. It's a requirement the teen center has been able to meet until now. Increasing enrollment and the improving economy has left the teen center without a majority of students considered low income.
"We went down to 49 percent the second quarter this last year," Croco said. "If we have students come from south sac who are not in the elk grove school district they don't count."
Without a change, the teen center might have to move, but they don't have anywhere else to go. It's a bureaucratic uncertainty that's creating some unnecessary teen drama.
The city of Elk Grove says it will work with the center to help meet the federal requirements. The only other way to keep the building would be to pay back the nearly $500,000 grant, which neither the city or teen center is able to do.
