The House of Neighborly Services, a South Tucson center for 60 years, will be taken over by a new agency by the beginning of next year.
“It’s good for us,” said John Irey, executive director of HNS. “It means we’ll be able to continue some of our services.”
A $50,000 budget shortfall spurred HNS to make a last-ditch attempt to recuperate some funds by suspending most of its services for what was hoped to be a month beginning in September. Irey and others frantically tried to raise funds to keep HNS alive.
HNS, which let most of its staff go in the weeks leading up to the shutting of its doors, has some programs still running in a skeleton format based on the inertia of its years of service. Former paid employees now donate their time to keep a few programs alive. Weekly senior lunches have morphed into potlucks, and children still show up after school to hang out in the computer lab and basketball court, even though the afterschool program is no longer operating.
Irey would not say which agency will take over HNS, but said when negotiations began, there were five organizations he and members of the board were working with. That list has been narrowed down to two options. Irey said he expects a decision to be made by Thanksgiving.
