Northwest Side Youth Leadership Program Faces Uncertainty After Sudden Center Closure

Residents on Indianapolis' northwest side are feeling the loss of a neighborhood center that not only served families but also teens and young adults. The Fay Biccard Glick Neighborhood Center is closed until further notice, leaving those in the Future Leaders in Progress (FLIP) program unsure about their future with the center.

The center closed earlier this month due to financial challenges. This sudden closure has left FLIP participants uncertain about what's next for them. Jaida Dagen, a former FLIP participant, expressed her concerns: "We never really knew what exactly would happen, but I think we all had a feeling, especially when it got closer to like the actual closure. But as for the actual community, I felt that was really abrupt.”

Dagen credits the FLIP program with helping her decide where to go to college and what to study. She spent a lot of time at the center as a kid: "I knew that one day I would want to either want to come back there, which is what I did, or help anywhere in my community.”

FLIP participants were initially told they could stay until they went back to school but were eventually informed via email that their last day was July 29. They received an email stating the center "cannot afford to pay for the program at this time." Caressa Addison, another FLIP participant, reflected: "I feel like everything that we were doing in the FLIP program was helping us in some way. Like, even if you didn't want to go to college, we went to job fairs where people could look at jobs where you would only need a GED.”

As of now, there is no set date on when or if the FLIP program will be accepting new teens and young adults. Participants wish the board had done more to keep their program open.

"You think the board is to blame for all of this?” WRTV’s Meredith Hackler asked.

"All personal things aside, they even admitted to us in a meeting they were like, 'We don't know what we are doing, we don't know about this program.' I asked them if they knew about the FLIP program. They don't know anything about the FLIP. They don't know anything about the way the Fay operates,” Addison said.