TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) -- The Palmer Munroe Teen Center is facing an uncertain future, as the city struggles to find a solution to a funding gap, after Leon County said they did not plan to renew a funding partnership with the city.
The center supervises teens in the county year-round -- and up to 200 teens during the summer.
The proposed budget for next year could cut the center's funding by about $150,000. Executive director Becky Pengelley says that's about a third of their funding.
Pengelley says the cuts would impact the number of programs available, the hours of operation, and how the center would stay staffed -- adding that the center is more than just a hangout for the kids.
"The center is very important to many teens who don't come from safe backgrounds," Pengelley said. "There are teens who have spoken about their family lives, their neighborhoods that they come from, and that this is the first time that they've been exposed to many different things. They feel very safe in the center -- and the impact that it's had on their lives, so we do know how important it is to them."
The center depends primarily on local partners and volunteers to offer the programs it has, but a major portion of the program's funding from the city goes to staffing the center. The director says they'll have to "get creative" if they lose significant funding.
