05/31/06

Last dance for Venice youth center

After 16 months in business, one of the few youth centers in and around Venice has decided to close its doors -- at least until it finds new digs.

Located on Ogden Road in Venice, the South County Young Adults Center Inc. closed Friday, literally after it held its last teen dance.

SCYAC's board of directors made the decision after getting word it was unable to secure two key grants to help fund its $218,000 annual budget, according to Ed Eagen, executive director of the center.

Unable to meet its $6,000 monthly rent, the board gave Eagen orders to close up shop and look for more affordable housing.

"The rent and utilities were much too high. We felt like we were throwing money into a big pit. It was just too expensive," Eagen said.

He had high hopes for a grant from Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, but was told it wasn't entertaining new applications.

To make matters worse, Department of Juvenile Justice grants fell through following budget cuts, Eagen said.

"The board decided to regroup and look at some other properties, and get the center back up and running in the future," he said.

Cracking the grant cycle

Board member Carrie Ballew acknowledged the organization had been having trouble breaking into the grant cycle in Florida.

"When people ask for money, sometimes it comes down to ... do we contribute to an established, older organization or a new one? ... and we get left out in the cold," Ballew said.

SCYAC's funding woes could also be partly due to the nature of the organization, which serves what Eagen called "street kids."

The center boasts 200 paid members and another 50 sometime visitors. Many of the youths are from broken or reconstituted homes and attend alternative schools, Eagen said.

The center's dances sometimes drew 300 youths from around the county, including areas north of Sarasota and south of Englewood.

"Unfortunately, sometimes the help ... doesn't come through because of the (type of) organization," Ballew said.

"We think the center fills a niche in this community," Eagen said when the center opened back in January 2005. "There is a critical need for a refuge from the influence of drugs -- a place where our young adults can be diverted from a downward spiral of anti-social behaviors."

"We feel we brought a lot of kids off the streets," Eagen said. "We had a lot of angry kids who didn't have a place to go. We'd bring them here and give them a chance to calm down through anger management and other activities."

Meanwhile, Eagen is in the process of trying to negotiate a new lease in the Bird Bay area.

He held an auction on Saturday, selling off donated furniture and two of the center's most-worn pool tables. The most expensive equipment has been placed in storage.

"We have high hopes that our community will help us," Ballew said. "We need to build community awareness that SCYAC is trying to help find kids a place where it is safe."

By Greg Giles

Staff Writer

http://www.venicegondolier.com/NewsArchive3/053106/tp2vn6.htm