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”The agency has endured
over $250,000 in funding reductions in the past two to three
years,” says Mickler. “These reductions have come from many
funders including United Way and government entities.”
As the name implies, Big
Brothers Big Sisters matches youngsters with adults who
provide mentoring services in a variety of programs –
long-term and short term. The youngsters the program serves
are those whose families are on public assistance (92
percent), are in poverty (90 percent), are headed by single
parents (71 percent) and are minority (62.6 percent).
At risk of being
terminated is a relatively new program called “I Am
Somebody, I Count” which works with youth of high-school age
and provides leadership development training – preparing
them for college and careers. The program helps them find
summer jobs, brings in speakers on a regular basis and
provides assistance in finding college scholarships. The
drop in funding will soon force the agency to cut two staff
positions and drop the program.
“We need funds to continue
what I consider to be a great program,” says Mickler.
Mickler, who has a wide range of experience in directing
non-profit groups, has been in charge of the agency for the
past three years. He first arrived in Toledo in 1997 to
start the area’s Urban League chapter after running the
Madison, WI Urban League chapter for the previous five
years. He left the Toledo area in 2007 for his native South
Carolina and returned seven years later.
Over the past several
years, the “I Am Somebody, I Count” program has recruited
and enrolled 80 students, brought in 30 guest speakers to
counsel the kids on various careers and topics such as
bullying, teen pregnancy and school violence and taken them
to job fairs around the area.
To date 30 of the kids
have already graduated from high school, 40 received summer
employment, 15 have already been awarded college
scholarships.
The greatest outcome, says
Mickler, “is changing behavior in a positive direction.”
The key component of the
program, says Mickler, is the leadership development
training which includes pre-employment readiness training
focusing on setting goals, a code of conduct, etiquette,
work readiness, correct behavior, anger management, credit
counseling and community issues.
The leadership development
component has a year-round aspect including academic
enrichment, college tours, community service projects and
career readiness.
The agency had been
expecting monies from the OCJS/Ohio Department of Public
Safety – funds that were expected to start in
October/November 2017. The funds were frozen leading to a
shortfall of $30,000 for the agency causing the layoff of a
caseworker and ending services for 40 youth this month. The
agency had already reduced its services in youth matches
with mentors from 896 to 425 due to previous funding cuts;
another 100 youth will be eliminated from its programs if
emergency funding is not found.
The Big Brothers Big
Sisters program started in Toledo in 1937 and eventually
became part of the national program. The agency is funded by
various governmental bodies along with non-profit funding
agencies such as United Way. In addition, the agency also
holds a number of fundraising events throughout the year to
supplement the monies raised from other sources.
It is not enough.
Facing drastic cut backs
because of the loss of these funds, Mickler reached out to
Councilwoman Yvonne Harper in June seeking help from the
City of Toledo in keeping the agency’s programs up and
running. Two weeks ago, City Council denied the request of
$75,000 by a seven-to-five vote. Voting yes were Council
members Harper, Larry Sykes, Tyrone Riley, Cecelia Adams and
Pater Ujvagi.
There is a certain irony
in the fact that coming soon for City Council is a vote on
whether to grant some relief for developer Bruce Douglas and
his $500,000 loan for his 52-unit Uptown Arts Apartments on
14th Street. Douglas says he needs the loan
forgiveness in order to avoid bankruptcy. In addition to the
loan he received in 2002, Douglas also received community
reinvestment tax abatements for 15 years enabling him to
reduce his annual tax on the property from about $50,000 per
year to $5,000 per year.
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