By Angela Marshall
Over the past year, about 75 kids have participated in the Brotherhood's tutorial and Safe Place programs, which for the past three years have been paid for by a $50,000 New York State grant. Pataki did not put the Safe Places grant in this year's proposed budget.
"If we lose that money, I would have to let all these kids and of course the coordinator go," said Margarita Grasing, executive director of the Hispanic Brotherhood.
The first thing the high school students do when they arrive at the Hispanic Brotherhood is their own homework. They get help if necessary, and are able to use the Brotherhood's computers. Many don't have computers at home, Grasing said.
Then the younger kids, picked up from their schools by buses, arrive and get to work on their own homework. In many cases, the kids would be home alone if not for the program because both of their parents work. "Everybody 's working," Grasing said. "I don't know who can afford to stay home anymore."
Grasing called being young and unsupervised a "wicked combination." "One of my biggest fears is the kids getting involved in gangs, because they're all over the place," she said. "It's an easy way out. They have security and acknowledgment that they exist."
Hernandez is one of the program's success stories. "She's come a long way," said Grasing.
This year, the 11th-grader at South Side High School will take the SATs. The Brotherhood is paying for her to attend Princeton Review classes beforehand. Her dream is to become a pilot.
"They need to see that there's a light at the end of the tunnel," Grasing said of the high school students. Many of them first participated in the after-school program at the Brotherhood and made the transition to being tutors. There is a waiting list for the paid jobs.
Most of the children who attend the after-school program are from Rockville Centre, with the exception of a few from Baldwin. Many of their parents don't speak English, Grasing said, so they can't help their kids with their homework.
Making sure the children are getting something out of the program is important to teacher Kevin Montgomery, who joined the Brotherhood staff in November. "It's not only childcare; it's education as well," he said.
As for what the high school students get from the program, Montgomery said, "It's leadership training, really."
If the grant is cut, the Brotherhood will still offer childcare but the tutorial program will be closed. Grasing is hopeful that state Sen. Dean Skelos or Assemblyman Robert Barra will work to reinstate the grant.
