Bronx Youth Organization at-risk of losing facilities and programming due to funding
Write Your Way Out, a youth organization focused on creating a safe space for kids across the borough is at risk of losing its facilities and programming due to lack of funding.
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Write Your Way Out, a youth organization focused on creating a safe space for kids across the borough is at risk of losing its facilities and programming due to lack of funding.
Minister Kwame Thompson started the organization located at 226 Soundview Ave. about two years ago.
"It's a solution to most of the problems that I see in the community. I have a passion to see young people be creative, where they don't have to worry about all the different things that is going on in life," says Minister Thompson.
Thompson tells News 12, in the beginning, a lot of the money spent on the youth organization was out-of-pocket and with the help of an angel donor.
Then he was awarded about $45,000 in grant money by local elected officials. He says he had to spend his own money first and then get reimbursed.
"I went through the whole process of turning in the information, going on the computer. I have somebody that works on that and has all the grant writing and everything and at this point, it just hasn't been paid out," says Minister Thompson.
Thompson says the grant payout goes through the New York State Department of Criminal Justice Services.
He says they didn't say the money isn't coming but this hold up is causing them to be backed up in rent by about $63,0000 and not being able to provide a full scale of services to Bronx kids.
"Our first goal is to reduce the shootings in our community, and this is one of the ways that we can do that and bring the youth together so they are not at war with each other and without these different things, we can't do it on the level that we need to do it on," says Minister Thompson
Thompson has also registered the city's Pivot Program to bring Write Your Way Out to Bronx schools as a violence-prevention program. The city provides funding for that program. However, he is still looking for schools in the borough to collaborate with.
Thompson has also started a GoFundMe to continue bring programs to Bronx youth.
