Future of immigrant kids program uncertain after Hillsborough doesn’t renew lease

Rosa Maria Noguera discovered The Florida Institute for Community Studies when she and her family moved to Town ‘N Country nearly two years ago.

The nonprofit center, which offers after-school programs and other services for low-income, largely migrant residents, has become a lifeline for Noguera. It enables her to work while knowing her child is safe, engaged, and well-cared for, she said.

But now she wonders where her 8-year-old son, Santiago, will go after school to get extra help with math, reading and English.

That’s because Hillsborough County has decided not to renew the institute’s agreement to use an office and classroom in Morgan Woods Park. The county said the decision came after an evaluation determined the space could better be used for other activities.

The institute, which has used the facility since 2016, must be out by Thursday. It has not found a new location it can use in the area.

“We are sad and nervous because this is the only group in the area that has been working with us to help our kids after school,” said Noguera, 44. She and her family escaped a dangerous situation in Venezuela and traveled to the U.S. for a new future, and the nonprofit has given her family support, she said.

“Our kids are happy here. We don’t understand why all of this has to happen.”

Founded in 2001, the nonprofit has been dedicated to serving low-income families, most of them newcomers with limited income and English who have settled in Town ‘N Country. The area has a population of more than 85,000, of which more than half identify as Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The nonprofit not only provides after-school programs, but also offers food, translations, trainings, access to computers and tutoring. The institute serves over 100 students annually, primarily aged 7 to 12, with a staff of four, along with five volunteers. Its after-school programs cost $45 per week, but families pay on a sliding scale according to income. Alayne Unterberger, the institute’s executive director, said most families pay $30, and some do not pay at all.

Unterberger said that before her organization moved in, Morgan Woods Park had been closed for eight years.

The county said it notified the nonprofit a year ago that it wouldn’t renew the agreement.

“The lease non-renewal was part of a routine assessment to ensure the County is maximizing use of its parks facilities, including that nonprofit groups leasing those facilities meet and demonstrate the department’s core mission of providing programming and services primarily aimed at local youth,” the county said in a statement to the Times, adding that the institute told the county it didn’t have money to pay for any lease arrangement.

The statement said county staff are working with the Hillsborough school board to explore solutions to limit interruptions with programs, such as Partners in Well-Being, an institute initiative through a federal grant to train students, school staff, parents and volunteers in mental health first aid.

The nonprofit pays $1,845 annually for rent. Unterberger said she told the county that her organization’s new grant does not include funding for any additional rental costs for the building beyond what it already pays for the space.

In 2021, the institute brought high-speed internet to the park through $7,000 in federal COVID-19 relief funds under the CARES Act, and has made other improvements, Unterberger said.

Unterberger said she never saw any evaluation by the county.

“In seven years, we have always stayed true to our mission and stayed open to the public of Town ‘N Country and other sites,” Unterberger said.

The nonprofit was initially located in a remodeled dollar store in a strip plaza in Town ‘N Country. It moved to Morgan Woods in 2016. The group also operates in Wimauma.

On Tuesday, parents organized a protest at Morgan Woods Park to express their discomfort with the county’s decision.

Yanis Perez has her son Alonso, 10, enrolled in the after-school program with Unterberger.

“For those just starting out in this country with a long journey ahead, it’s a great help that a local organization is stepping in to assist,” said Perez, 38, who came to the U.S. two years ago from Cuba and works as a nurse.

“The most logical thing is to continue supporting these types of local groups, not stop their work.”

Lurvin Lizardo, a Honduran community activist in Tampa, called the situation unfortunate.

“Instead of shutting down a place that has been used by an institute so dedicated to our community, I believe the county should bolster its support,” Lizardo said. “Let’s open doors instead of closing them.”