[StBernard] Action Report: St. Bernard Community Center faces financial crisis

[Westley Annis]

Action Report: St. Bernard Community Center faces financial crisis

wwltv.com

Posted on August 7, 2014 at 6:38 PM

Updated today at 6:38 PM

Bill Capo / Eyewitness News

Email: bcapo at wwltv.com | Twitter: @billcapo

Each week families and senior citizens facing tough times come to the St.
Bernard Community Center for emergency food supplies.

"Many families are living on $25,000 a year or less, and an alarming number
are living on $10,000 a year or less," said Center founder Iray Nabatoff.

The center helps families that need clothing, computers to apply for jobs,
even basic medical care.

Janice Johnson is a weekly visitor.

"Because I need help with food," she noted,  "and it's very important that
we get this, this helps when you're on low income, and don't have a job, or
can't work."

"180 households,which is 360 individuals come to our food pantry," said
Nabatoff.

Ann Hartmann said the center is "very important, because we live on Social
Security."

It costs about $10,000 a month to keep the door open here at the Community
Center, and they depend on grants and donations. But right now the money is
running out. They can pay the August electric bill, but they don't know
about September. They urgently need help. 

"We need by the end of the month, first week of September, we need $10,000,
or I'm not sure that we'll be able to keep the doors open," worried
Nabatoff. 

"I hope they don't close it, because a lot of people are going to suffer, if
they close this community center," said Johnson.

"I wouldn't eat as well as what I do here, because I do get meat here,"
added Hartmann.

New grants provide funding starting in January, but the clients are hoping
donations will support the Center until then.

"It would make a great deal of difference, because when you live on Social
Security, you don't get an awful lot, you know," said Hartmann.

"Please give the donations, because we down here, we need this food, we need
the center not to close," pleaded Johnson. For more information, call the
St. Bernard CFommunity Center at 281-2512, or visit their website at
www.ccstb.org.