Several nonprofit leaders assembled on War Memorial Plaza on Monday to ask the mayor and the City Council for more money for children?s programs.
“We have 7-year-olds dealing drugs in our neighborhoods,” said Scott Stafford, a community organizer in the Curtis Bay-Brooklyn area. “We need to give children hope.”
The activists, assembled by the Safe and Sound Campaign, a Baltimore-based nonprofit research group, demanded that an additional $5.4 million of the city?s budget surplus be committed to investing in families, arguing that the upcoming gubernatorial election could hinge on which candidate commits to “family” issues.
“The survey results show that Baltimore City voters are 88 percent more likely to vote for a candidate who make issues affecting children and families a top priority,” said Michael Byrant, head of Elijah Inc.
The $5.4 million is part of an “opportunity agenda” that Sandy McFadden, the executive director of the Franciscan Youth Center, said will save the city money in the long run. “The state of Maryland spends $612 million each year to put some Baltimore citizens in foster care, juvenile detention and prison,” she said.
The groups are asking the city to provide funding for home visiting for pregnant and young mothers, older youth job training and apprenticeship and school-based mental health services, among other things.
Hathaway Ferebee, executive director of Safe and Sound, said the programs have been successful and now need city support to continue.
“These programs have been funded from the private sector to see if they would work. Some of these programs will close if we don?t get funding from the city,” she said.
But Raquel Guillory, O?Malley?s spokeswoman, said the mayor recently committed 50 percent of the city?s $60.6 million surplus to youth-based initiatives. She said the city has already made substantial commitments that will benefit the city?s children.
“Last year, we made a historic investment in after-school programs, and this year we are continuing that investment,” she said.
Stafford said the additional funds from the city will help him build on the progress he has seen in his neighborhood. “Things have gotten better. We need to continue our work,” he said.
