Village Youth Project Facing New Budget Challenges

The Babylon Village pool is the perfect place for kids to spend a hot afternoon. But not every young resident has the benefit of a membership pass, or parents that are home and available to shepherd them to recreational activities. And that's exactly why Director Eric Price and a small team of dedicated staff members and volunteers are determined to keep the Babylon Village Youth Project up and running.

"Everyone assumes every single kid in Babylon is privileged. You'd be amazed at how many of our kids have lived here their whole lives but have never stepped foot on a boat, " said James Tasciotti, a retired high school teacher and Babylon resident who spends school day afternoons at the project's North Carll Street Center, overseeing homework and pitching in wherever needed.

"We don't take anything for granted. We start from scratch, like when we take them sailing. It's here's a life jacket, here are the basics."

Tasciotti volunteers his boat for the annual sailing trip, one of many outings organized by the Youth Project during the school year and summer.

In addition to the organized events, the project's walk-in hours and other offerings—a recent photography lesson and subsequent contest was popular—attract a healthy afterschool crowd, who come to hang out, do their homework, and socialize. The staffed location can be more attractive than the alternative.

"Many of them have two working parents. They come home to an empty house," explained Price.

The project serves tweens and teens ages eight through 18 from Babylon Village and elsewhere.

"I hate to turn anyone away," said Price, who took over in 2000 for former director Darrel Ford after attending the center when he was a teen.

Senior Youth Worker Rita Fraccalvieri got involved through Price, who is her son-in-law. Tasciotti and Andrew Mullane, another volunteer, got involved through the Babylon Lions Club.

"Babylon businesses and groups have always been so generous," explained Price. Local businesses donate goods for the group's largest yearly fundraiser, an auction held in October at the Hibernian Hall.

"But there's only so much fundraising you can do," he noted.

Recent state budget cuts have created a deficit of $6,000 to $10,000 that the project must either make up in increased operational cuts or raise on their own.

Governor Andrew Cuomo's austere 2011-2012 budget cut funding for youth bureau programs in half, and the remaining funding is to be awarded competitively, which puts programs in smaller towns and cities at a disadvantage.

Price isn't sure how to trim an already lean operation. "I've already reduced hours. Staffing and rent are our two biggest costs," he explained.

Fraccalvieri agreed and added that in previous years they were able to subsidize some of the activity and transportation costs for the kids' field trips, a perk they can no longer afford to offer.

The nonprofit is mostly funded through state and county dollars, granted through the Office of Children and Family Services. Founded in 1981, the organization's mission is to provide educational, cultural and community service opportunities to local young people.

Price is scheduled to announce the ramifications of the most recent budget cuts at an upcoming board meeting. He and the other leaders agree that because the project has been threatened by shortfalls numerous times in past decades, at one point losing a location for the center, Babylon residents underestimate the current financial predicament.

"There's a complacency. Everyone thinks it will just all work out, that we'll always be here. But this is a real threat."

Like many involved in youth prevention and recreation programs, Price and the other leaders believe that in the long run, costs of juvenile crime, rehabilitation, and related expenses will dwarf today's savings and that youth service is an investment.

"We get them when they're young, and provide that structure, that strict set of rules, and that constant adult presence."