Program that ‘weeds out the bad, seeds the good’ running on fewer funds
Kids who rely on a local program are fearful it will eventually be phased out.
The ‘Weed and Seed’ program started about 16 years ago. It’s a free program meant to help kids stay out of trouble. Over the past few years, it’s been running on fewer funds.
17-year-old Roman Garcia has attended weed and seed for the past 11 years. “Coming here, this actually is a family,” Garcia said.
The national program, which strives to weed out the bad and seed the good, is considered a safe haven for “at-risk youth.”
“I was in an abusive home when I was about 6 and after that I went to a foster care that was also abusive,” Garcia said.
But the 17-year-old says over the years, the program has received less money
“We used to actually have cooked meals here, we’re not allowed to do that anymore,” Garcia said. “We actually had camps that we’d go to.”
Garcia sent a letter to the city asking why budget cuts towards the program were happening.
“What the federal government tried to do is assist communities to get it off the ground and then slowly through the government entity or a non-profit they take it on and locate funds where they can be self-sustainable and continue this program,” Robert Nuez, Las Cruces Recreation & Youth Services Administrator, said.
Nuez told ABC-7 the program no longer gets federal or state funds. It’s now solely under the supervision of the city. This has resulted in its budget shrinking from about $450,000 a year to $285,000.
Nuez the city did away with overnight camps because of liability issues. He says they still offer two meals a day to kids during the summer. Since parks and rec has taken over, kids can also apply for part time jobs under the program. Something Garcia hopes to do.
He just hopes with fewer funds, kids like him will continue to get the attention they need.
“It’s helped me and it’s helped other kids here that come from broken homes,” Garcia said.
The first two weeks this summer, the program also cut its hours. It since relocated its funds and has gone back to helping kids 5 days a week from 9 to 4 pm.
