SALT LAKE CITY — For decades, Boys & Girls Clubs have been a lifeline for kids across the Salt Lake Valley. But one of those safe spaces, the Lied Boys & Girls Club is closing its doors for now. Leaders say it’s because of a major loss in funding, leaving families in Glendale and Poplar Grove searching for answers.
Parent Judith Gomez says she didn’t feel prepared for the change. Gomez says the closure was announced just weeks before the club’s summer program ended. “I think it was unfair to a lot of us,” she said. “I didn’t receive an email. Everything was just disorganized.”
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake says ending programming at the Lied club in Poplar Grove for the upcoming school year is due to the loss of more than $2 million in federal funding.
CEO Amanda Red Gardner said in a statement, “It is with a heavy heart that our board confirms the Lied Club will not offer afterschool care this school year. Despite diligent efforts, the loss of federal funding led to this difficult decision. We understand the challenges this may present and are working with Salt Lake City and the Utah Afterschool Network to help families.”
The Boys & Girls Club wasn’t just an after-school program for Gomez; it was her safe place. “Growing up in a home where I felt so neglected. It was nice to come here where I felt very loved and valued. It gave me community and family more than anything,” she said. “It saved me.”
Now, Gomez is a single mother to two young boys. She says she enrolled them into the club because she wanted them to have the same support. “Next thing you know, they’re closing. So, it’s like, okay now I gotta find other ways to take care of my kids. Let alone try to work as a single mom,” she said.
Joey Lepore is a former staff member. He says he grew up coming to the Lied Club, too. “I dropped out, I was involved in drugs. I hung around the wrong people, and this place still allowed me to come here, despite the mistakes I made, they never judged me,” he said.
The organization says it has a plan to rebuild operations as new funding comes their way.
“This is the only safe place in this neighborhood for these kids to go to and now they have nowhere to go,” Lepore said.
As for Gomez, she hopes: “That there is communication going forward,” she said. "That there is a willingness to help the community because this was everybody’s lifeline"
