Christina Jedra

The News Journal

"Zeroing out funding for the community development block grant program is heartless," Sen. Tom Carper said.

The grant program's elimination would mean a loss of $3.2 million for programs and projects in Wilmington.

Sneakers thumped and squeaked on Tuesday as dozens of elementary schoolers played tag on the new gym floor at H. Fletcher Brown Boys & Girls Club in Wilmington.

The new shiny boards are a big improvement over the old surface, said Duane Flowers, a senior youth counselor.

"You couldn't get no grip even with good sneakers," said Flowers, 26. "The kids were sliding around. It's a great floor now."

The gym floor is one of several improvements to the club made possible by a $95,000 community development block grant allocated by the city of Wilmington using federal dollars.

But the award could be one of the last of its kind. President Donald Trump's budget proposed the elimination of the community development block grant program.

Started in 1974, the $3 billion program is "not well-targeted to the poorest populations and has not demonstrated results," said Trump's budget proposal titled "America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again."

"The budget devolves community and economic development activities to the state and local level, and redirects federal resources to other activities," the budget proposal states.

The program's elimination would mean a $3.2 million loss for a range of programs and projects in Wilmington. This year's recipients include Delaware HIV Services, Inc., Catholic Charities, the Salvation Army, YMCA Delaware and the Delaware Center for Homeless Veterans.

If the grant hadn't been available this year, the Boys & Girls Club would have gone without major recent upgrades: improved swimming pool lighting; a new surface for the pool floor; repaired showers and locker rooms; and a new heating, ventilation and air conditioning system for the teen center.

Without the new HVAC system, the facility may not have been able to stay open this summer – the time of year that programs are even more in demand, according to Danielle Benson, the club's director.

"(The grant) was a huge factor in continuing to serve kids in the community," she said.

Located in northeast Wilmington, the H. Fletcher Brown center serves about 60 young children and about 80 teens, Benson said. The younger crowd participates in art projects, STEM activities, games and sports, and teens engage in financial literacy training, self-esteem building exercises and community service.

Benson said cuts to the grant program could rob children of needed help.

"These are the kids that need support the most, and if they can't get it at home, we as a community need to able to step in and bridge the gap," she said. "It's frightening to think (the funding) would no longer be there."

At a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Fletcher Brown renovations on Tuesday, Sen. Robert Marshall said it's important to support community centers that provide essential guidance for Wilmington's children.

"They may not get all the right direction at home, but they come here and they have the leadership, people who care who do outstanding work with them," he said.

City Council President Hanifa Shabazz said the Boys & Girls Club is a safe haven.

"The children and families truly appreciate coming to a facility that is beautifully adorned, well-maintained and (where they are) welcomed by individuals that care for their well-being," she said.

Delaware lawmakers are not happy with the prospect of cutting community development block grants.

Sen. Tom Carper said in a statement that Trump's budget blueprint is "in no way a serious proposal."

“It’s a political statement that, if ever enacted, would leave the most vulnerable among us in dire straits," he said. "Zeroing out funding for the community development block grant program is heartless and inconsistent with our moral obligation to care for the ‘least of these’ in our society."

The grants benefit thousands of Delawareans of all ages, Carper said.

"From the children that count on Boys & Girls Club for a safe place to play, to the seniors that rely on Meals on Wheels for a warm meal and companionship, so many of our neighbors in Delaware stand to lose under these budget cuts," he said.

Sen. Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Trump's "skinny budget" is disappointing, and he will fight for funding for critical programs.

Carper and Coons were among 42 lawmakers who sent a letter on April 6 to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development. They requested that the program be maintained at $3 billion.

"The CDBG program is one the federal government's most effective means to revitalize low- and moderate-income communities across the country," the letter states. "We find it troubling that the president's budget proposes to eliminate the program altogether. Doing so would shift an insurmountable cost to local communities."

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Flowers used to play in Stormin's Classic, a basketball program started by former City Councilman Norman Oliver. He said that kind of youth programming makes a big difference in the lives of children, in elementary school and beyond.

"I see some of the teens that used to come to the programs that don't no more, and you can see the effect," he said.

Jeffrey Starkey, the city's public works commissioner, said he was a Boys & Girls Club kid in the 1970s at the now-closed Jackson Street location. The Wilmington native said it kept him out of trouble. For city youth today, he said it's "critical."

"It kept me off the streets," said Starkey, a board member for the organization. "Without them, I would've never learned sportsmanship, camaraderie, all those good things. ... They taught me how to play tennis, basketball, chess."

The Boys & Girls Club even provided Starkey a scholarship, helping him to attend Hampton University, he said. Friends Starkey grew up with who didn't frequent the club made other choices.

"A lot of them are in jail," he said. "I took the Boys Club path; they took the street path."

Contact Christina Jedra at (302) 324-2837, cjedra@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @ChristinaJedra.

Clarification: An earlier version of this story misrepresented which funds H. Fletcher Brown Boys & Girls Club used to purchase a new HVAC system. Dollars secured by Sen. Robert Marshall were spent on HVAC units to replace those stolen in 2015. Community development block grant funds were used to purchase news units for the teen center.