Dwindling funding has forced a longstanding Pittsburgh nonprofit to close.
Urban Youth Action, an employment readiness and community service organization serving high school students, will end its operations on Oct. 31, concluding 45 years. The decision to close was two years in the making, executive director Ruthie King said.
"The landscape of funding for nonprofits has certainly changed," she said. "We've been impacted by the recession."
Since 2008, the Downtown organization has seen a 30 percent decrease in recurring funding from private donors, King said. This year's operating budget is $600,000.
The late Bernard Jones Sr., a Hill District native, founded the organization in 1966 to offer job readiness, educational support services and leadership development programs to local youth. His son, the Rev. Cornell Jones, 37, of Penn Hills, refuses to abandon that vision.
"With all the violence, I feel this is a program we still need," said Jones, a chaplain at the state prison at Woods Run. "I understand the announcement and I respect it, but my father pushed me to never give up."
Students will move to similar programs at other organizations, such as Downtown's Youth Works, which provides career training. Urban Youth Action serves about 650 students a year between its afterschool and outreach programs.
"They were disappointed," King said. "I don't think they realized the impact of the loss of funding until they realized we couldn't continue with some annual programs."
In addition to being the founder's son and a former Urban Youth Action employee, Jones participated in the organization's life skills and career training programs from eighth to 12th grade. He said those programs changed his life by preparing him for the work force.
"This is not over," he said. "We can't let it die."
The organization lists Pittsburgh police Chief Nate Harper among the prominent alumni of its programs. He called the closure "a great loss to the youth in the area."
"For decades, the UYA provided a safe haven for the youth in the community," he said. "It saddens me to see this great organization close its doors and turn off the lights. It has inspired youth in the community, like myself."
