Lakewood Organizations' Federal Grant Funding Slashed

Trish Rooney, the executive director of the , has her hands full. 

And things aren't looking any easier.

During the past few years, the community outreach nonprofit has seen a marked increase in the number of people needing assistance — a 35 percent spike since 2009.

However, federal funding for LCSC — along with a dozen other Lakewood agencies — has continued to decrease.

Last week, they all learned that immediate cuts were being made.

Administered by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Community Development Block Grants are being slashed in Lakewood from $2,343,501 to $2.2 million.

The local distribution of the money is decided by the Lakewood Citizens Advisory Committee, a volunteer citizen panel that works with the city.

Each organization funded by the grants is feeling the pinch. 

The cuts affect city street paving projects, economic development programs and medical assistance for the poor.

At LCSC, the proposed cuts — which must get final approval from city council — mean more than a total of $10,000 in cuts to its food pantry and housing assistance programs.

Rooney said some of the funds are matching grants, and the organization — holding up its end of the bargain — already spent its share of the money.

"We could manage a $1,000 cut — but thousands of dollars is a different story," she said, adding that LCSC will likely dip into its investments to makeup for the shortfall. "Do you think we're going to turn down people who are homeless? We do the right things for families and for the community."

"We are dealing with basic human needs — is there anything more basic than food?"

Rooney said the news comes at time when the needs for food and shelter assistance increase.

Last month alone, the organization fed 842 low-income Lakewood families — 1,900 people — and 15 percent of those people had never received LCSC assistance before.

"We're not handout agents," she said. "We're helping to stabilize this very fragile population — which in turn has an affect on stabilizing Lakewood. If people don't have basic needs, you've got a whole different set of problems on your hands.

"These are people who live next to us, who go to school with us."

City officials were anticipating cuts in the CDBG funding, but they estimated only about 8 percent reductions. It was double what was expected — at 16 percent.

Emma Petrie-Barcelona, the city's development officer in the department of planning and development, said the federal funding has been dropping since the program began in 1993.

"With the buying power, it's lower than it's ever been," she said. "We'll see what's approved by Congress and HUD, but I don't think we'll ever see $2 million ever again."

She said since the cuts were more than 10 percent to many of the agencies, the CAC had to decide where the cuts would be made.
"(The cuts) were not decisions based on the validity of a program," Petrie-Barcelona said.

Dru Siley, the city's assistant director of planning and development, said the administration is now turning its attention to 2012 — when more cuts in federal funding are expected.

"I was hoping against hope that (this wouldn't happen)," he said. "The bigger story is planning our strategy for 2012, and making sure we're doing the most good that we can in the coming year."