A 35-day partial federal shutdown has forced a Family Centered Programs initiative to look to possible community funding avenues after learning it will no longer receive grant funding.
Even with the end of the shutdown Friday, officials at Starkville’s Families First program doubt they will receive the $150,000 annual grant that has provided the bulk of their funding in years past.
The program, hosted at the J.L. King Center on North Long Street, relies on Mississippi Department of Human Services funding. The money is administered to north Mississippi programs, including the one in Starkville, through the Family Resource Center in Tupelo. Families First provides adult education programs, workforce development training such as preparation for the WorkKeys test, and after-school programs for children.
On Wednesday, Families First received a notice from Family Resource Center Executive Director Christi Webb saying the subgrant that funds it must be terminated “effective immediately.” The letter further instructed the program to cease all activities and expenditures after Thursday.
On Friday, officials held a public meeting at the center — attended by about two dozen community members, leaders, program officials and students — where they stressed that the Families First Program at the J.L. King Center will remain open for now.
Joan Butler, director of the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District’s Family Centered Programs, said she reassigned some donation funding from Emerson Family School to keep the center’s door open while officials look for more funding.
“The location is ideal, the passion — the people here are motivated and reaching the community and able to show success on a daily basis,” Butler said. “To end this momentum at this point would be a crime.
“We are determined,” she added. “We will have these doors open on Monday morning and we will be continuing to do business as usual.”
Butler said it would take about $10,000 per month to keep the center open and operating.
Elmarie Brooks, project manager for Families First in Starkville, said she was heartbroken at the news.
“It’s very disturbing to get a letter one day and you’re serving over a hundred families a month — and that’s not even counting the 40 or so children who come here in the evening Monday through Thursday,” she said.
Walter C. Robinson, a student in the center’s adult education program, said he hopes to see it carry on.
“I’m going to get my GED here,” he said. “I would like to see it continue on, and with the Lord’s help, we’re going to continue on. It’s important, for people like me and for the young people.”
Funding fears linger
Though President Donald Trump announced an agreement on Friday to temporarily reopen the government for three weeks, Families First officials in Starkville said they doubt the program would get its funding back once the shutdown ended.
“The way the letter reads, and that’s the only real contact we can say we’ve had, it talks about equipment and any excess supplies and materials,” Butler said at the meeting, which was held before Trump’s announcement. “If it was a temporary freeze they would just tell you that maybe you shouldn’t come to work because you may not be paid and reimbursed and all that.
“It is not reading that way at all,” she continued. “It says it’s a closeout — that’s the difference when they are closing the doors. It doesn’t say temporary or anything in that letter.”
The Dispatch was unable to reach Butler after Trump’s announcement on Friday.
Seeking solutions
Friday’s meeting primarily focused on brainstorming ways to secure funding to keep the program moving forward.
Alison Buehler, with the Homestead Education Center, said finding funding won’t be solved with one meeting. However, she encouraged attendees to find connections and potential resources to help back the center.
“You’ve got to go back to church and say, ‘We’ve got to step up and get back on board,'” she said. “You’ve got to go back to your organization and say, ‘We’re not going to scattershot this and go all over the place. We’re going to come together in this one place and make a big dent.'”
Starkville Area Arts Council Executive Director John Bateman suggested the center partner with local nonprofit organizations, such as Homestead or the Arts Council, which could act as additional collection points for donations or possibly help seek grants for further funding.
Brooks said the program is in talks with 4-County Electric Power Association and may receive a $10,000 grant to continue operations.
Oktibbeha County District 5 Supervisor Joe Williams, who attended Friday’s meeting, suggested getting in touch with local pastors in Starkville’s ministerial alliance.
“They are very active and I think they’d be willing to help,” he said.
The center will host two meetings for faith-based and civic organizations at noon and 6 p.m. on Feb. 5.
Butler also noted that Emerson Family School, on Louisville Street, can accept donations for the J.L. King Center’s programs. She said any donations for the center should be designated specifically for the Families First program.
Alex Holloway was formerly a reporter with The Dispatch.
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