At dusk, more than a dozen teenage boys file into the playground area of the House of Neighborly Services, a South Tucson nonprofit that shut down temporarily in early September in an effort to recuperate from an $80,000 funding shortfall.
HNS, which has been operating at 243 W. 33rd St. since 1948, offered various services including a basketball and after school literacy program, senior social activities, distribution of food boxes, computer literacy classes and a tattoo removal program. Most of the programs are free of charge, which benefits the 76 percent of their clients who earn less than $15,000 a year.
HNS gets most of its funding from Pima County, Presbytery de Cristo--the Southwestern division of the Presbyterian Church USA and private donations said John Irey, executive director.
This year, all three sources decreased funding substantially.
So far, HNS has been able to raise about $40,000 in donations.
The center, which has an annual budget of $350,000, saved $40,000 by shutting down for the month of September, but most of that savings had to be used to pay past bills. Right now, HNS has about one-third of the funds they need to reopen in October.
“Things aren’t looking too good,” Irey said. “Not a lot of people are giving money right now.”
Despite the financial troubles, some of the programs are still carrying on thanks to dedicated volunteers and participants who are keeping them going at a reduced level with little or no funding. Here’s a look at three of these vital programs.
Tattoo Removal Program
“I used to tell people I was branded, like an animal,” Jenny Favela said of the faint marks that remain of a tattoo, which read EC, for Eddie Castro.
“It was that bad of a relationship. He told me that he’d either slice my face or give me a tattoo to remember him by. So I chose a tattoo,” Favela said.
“But it’s gone now, Jenny,” said Isaac Villegas-Durgin, who runs HNS’s tattoo removal program, as they sat around a table at one of the organization’s buildings.
Favela, 50, raised six kids by herself and now works for the state. She said she’d probably never be able to afford to have the tattoo removed.
Laser tattoo removal typically costs $500 per session and usually takes eight or more sessions to complete.
Favela’s was gone in five sessions. That may be because the tattoo was more than 30 years old.
Through the tattoo removal program at HNS, people like Favela who could never afford the laser treatments, can get “negative” tattoos from abusive relationships and gang affiliations removed for free.
There are about 15 people currently receiving laser treatments through the program – at least for as long as HNS can afford it.
It costs $1,000 to rent the laser machine for four hours, Villegas-Durgin said. Doctors from St. Elizabeth of Hungary Clinic work with HNS to perform the tattoo removal session.
“As I understand it, we still have a little bit of money left,” Villegas-Durgin said. “As long as nobody’s getting paid, we can still do it.
“I feel bad for the people who just started getting the treatments. Now they might never get them removed.”
Senior Social Activities
“We’ve all been praying a lot,” said Josie Romero, 79, who has been coming to the senior activities at HNS for more than 15 years. “We’re all friends and we love each other.”
For many South Tucson elderly, the seniors program at HNS was the only time they were able to see their friends. The program previously met twice a week.
They play bingo, create arts and crafts, teach each other sewing techniques and take wellness classes given by staff members from El Rio Community Health Center. Once in a while, there’d be a manicure and pedicure day for the overwhelmingly female group of about 40 seniors.
“They keep our minds busy,” said Romero, who moved to the neighborhood with her five children in 1962.
For now, it looks like the seniors program will be able to continue to meet for lunch and some activities at least through the end of October.
“People don’t understand, you really do die of loneliness,” said Irey, who knows some seniors who have been coming to the program for over 30 years. “The most important part is that this is a social activity for these ladies who would otherwise never get out.”
After-school Activities
“There’s nothing to do when this place isn’t open,” said 12-year-old Angel Valenzuela.
Valenzuela and his friends will continue to come and play basketball on the court at HNS until they reopen.
The boys worry they might have to find another activity if HNS cannot pay the electrical bill, the lights over the court go out.
In better days, staff members used to walk to neighborhood schools and return with the kids to make sure they got there safely. They would eat a snack, get help with homework and participate in structured activities and supervised playtime.
Perhaps most importantly, Spanish speaking students had access to a literacy program where they specifically received help with English reading and writing skills.
Now the kids are allowed to play outside and hang out in the computer lab because they have nowhere else to go.
“I’d rather they be here, even if they’re just playing video games, because it keeps them off the street,” Irey said. “Even if they spend four hours hanging out in the computer lab, that’s four hours they’re not on the street.”
HNS is collecting donations so they can reopen in October. Irey said some of programs may have to remain suspended and HNS will have to rely more heavily on volunteers than in the past.
