Photo: Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Shifting demographics leads to a drastic price jump for youth center fees in Cambridge, Mass.
This year, families who make over $150,000 with fourth and fifth graders paid just $54 per month for after-school youth center programs. Next year, they could have to pay over $750 a month and the Cambridge City Council wants to know why.
Cambridge City Councilor Ayesha Wilson said the demographics of the families using youth center programming have shifted. Before 2021, she said low-income children comprised over 80 percent of the programs.
“[What] we started to recognize since 2021 is that those numbers have now shifted and now there’s 40 percent low income,” said Wilson.
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Despite the demographic shift, Wilson and her fellow councilors want the Department of Human Service Programs (DHSP) to explain the price jump. She co-sponsored an order asking the DHSP to provide clear justifications and outline a support system, so they don’t price people out of programs they’ve been ingrained into.
“We want to support our families, we want to support the city and have sustainable programs that are meeting their needs, but also recognize that, across the board, folks are just tapped when it comes to the financial burden,” said Wilson.
DPHS will present its justification at the City Council meeting on Monday, June 10.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Kyle Bray (@KyleBrayWBZ) reports.
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