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Pittsburgh City Council

After running Glen Hazel’s youth programs for free, volunteers say they can’t continue.

Written by Amy Whipple

Discussion about supporting children and youth through the Stop the Violence (STV)  fund continued as council members considered issuing a request for proposals for programming at the Burgwin Recreation Center in Glen Hazel.

Council Member Barb Warwick of Greenfield, whose district includes Glen Hazel, said a three-year renovation of the former pool building is almost complete. Until recently, community members, primarily Saundra and James Cole, ran afterschool and summer programming there, which is no longer sustainable. “There comes a point where you can’t work for free anymore,” said Warwick.

“For too long the city has grown accustomed to relying on the kindness of community members, often in our most underserved, poorest communities to provide the services that we provide in communities where we have a rec center,” she continued. “That is not equitable.”

The city’s 11 recreation centers provide services to children and youth for free or for nominal costs. 

Some council members felt uncomfortable with potentially paying for programming — capped at $200,000 for one year — out of the STV fund without following its legislative guidelines.

During the discussion Saundra Cole asked if she could speak but was not permitted to. When council agreed to a two-week hold on the request, she said as she left the room, “If it was a white community, it would be okay. It’s not a white community. It’s a black community, and we need every bit of help that we can get.”

Connections to this story

Topics:
Parks & Public SpacePublic Safety & EMS
Governments:
Pittsburgh City Council
Sources:
Resolution 2026-0643 — transferring the amount of two hundred thousand dollars ($200,000) to the Department of Parks and Recreation…

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