Club’s location has been an issue for years (2024)

It has been over a month since the local Boys and Girls Club shut its doors following the closure of the former Yazoo City Junior High School building for safety reasons. And local children remain without a club as the search continues for a new location.

Club officials and administrators met with the Yazoo County Board of Supervisors this week, requesting their assistance and influence in speaking with city school officials about the possible use of the former Webster Elementary School building. It is going to take a lot of work to reach a negotiation for the former school building, considering the school district intends to use the gymnasium as transportation storage.

It appears as if the situation is now an “all-hands-on-deck” matter with an urgent search for a location and solution concerning the future of the local club. But, in my opinion, urgency was needed several years ago. The location of our local Boys and Girls Club has been on the table since at least 2016 when I first published an article surrounding the poor conditions at its former location. Almost a decade later, we find ourselves in the situation we are in…with our local children who utilized the club suffering the most.

The urgency we are now seeing should have been applied eight years ago.

In January of 2016, I visited the club at its former location, and I was shocked at the condition I found the aging building in as club members continued to use it. The situation in 2016 was called “dangerous” by club administrators as they continued to beg for assistance from the previous administrations of both the city and the city schools.

I personally visited the club in 2016, and I found restricted areas that held excessive amounts of water damage and what appeared to be black mold. Although the children were not allowed in these areas for safety and health reasons, they were limited to the small spaces where they could have a club of their own.

Buckling under the strain of rainfall and water, ceiling panels were falling to the ground. Light fixtures were hanging by one cord from a collapsed ceiling panel. Floor tiles were soft, filled with water. The entire south hallways of the club were closed off to the public, which was often underwater after heavy rain. Scattered throughout the remainder of the building that the children used, there were areas of water damage. Old leaks mingled in with fresh water spots as the ceiling showed signs of deterioration. The once heavily-used gymnasium resembled a ghost town. It was a damp and wet cesspool of damaged floors and possible black mold. Even the walls of the gymnasium were soft, wet upon touch.

Other than minor repairs, nothing major was done at the club’s former location with responsibility for such repairs constantly being passed onto the “accountable” party. Responsibility was constantly shifted between the club, school officials and city leaders. Chunks of wording surrounding the lease and the sublease of the building were dissected because no one appeared to want to take, a rather expensive, accountability. And as the back-and-forth discussion continued, the building was literally rotting to the ground.

It is hard to remain optimistic about the future of our local Boys and Girls Club as it remains closed with no clear option of relocation. It seems as if every possibility fails when it's time to put pen to paper. I pray that some solution can be found quickly. The club’s operation is vital for our community. Our local operation was the blueprint for other clubs to open in the Delta region. And with at least 60 children who utilized the club during the summer season, those children are left with nowhere to go for a safe, productive haven.

The entire situation should be considered an urgent matter. Unfortunately, that urgency should have been applied years ago. Urgency has the possibility to spark change. But when applied too late, it merely becomes desperation.