5th on 5th Youth Services forced to close three programs

Above Watch: After 20-years of service 5th on 5th Youth Services has asked for some help on its own. Matt Battachio reports.

A struggling Lethbridge not-for-profit founded over two decades ago has been forced to cut three programs at the end of next month, due to a serious funding crunch.

“We’ve just simply run out of money for those programs, so we’ll have to shut those down,” said Jeff Meadows, with the organization.

5th on 5th helps youth improve both their academic and job-finding skills.

The organization will still offer those services, but to a much lesser extent, with the federal funding it currently receives.

“It’s a huge deal,” said Meadows. “Basically we’re going down from being able to service 8,000 … students in a year, to just several hundred.”

Trevor Wagenvoort has worked at 5^th on 5^th Youth Services since its establishment in 1994.

Wagenvoort believes the upcoming cuts will mean many youth will miss out on the opportunity to use the program in the future.

“There’s a huge portion of the population that won’t be represented at all, so our clients are genuinely worried about where they go next,” said Wagenvoort.

It won’t be just clients who are impacted by the impending cuts.

The organization will lay off four employees, reducing staffing numbers from 19 to just five.

“It’s people that have stuck with us since this started, who have been here, day in and day out, helping these young people with every fibre of their being and they’re losing their positions as well,” said Meadows.

Though 5th on 5th will accept donations moving forward, what it really needs is stable long term funding.

“What we really need is a mandate,” said Meadows. “Somebody that is willing to stand up and say this is important. somebody bigger than just us.”

The three programs will close on June 30^th.