TAMPA, Fla. — The Board President of a Tampa non-profit confirmed Tuesday that financial problems led to its permanent closure.
Last week, Tampa Crossroads abruptly and quietly closed its doors. The nonprofit helped people access behavioral wellness, housing, and employment services. According to its website, it had been in operation since 1977.
"We wish it wasn't so abrupt," Board President Kristin Votta said. "We thought we were getting funds in that we didn't get in."
Votta said the non-profit's financial issues stemmed from the pandemic. She said the non-profit and its various programs took on more than it could adequately fund.
"It was not what we intended. It was not planned. It was not premeditated," Votta said. "We did our best over and over and over again and it really is horrible that we are here."
Votta said it pooled funding and therefore the more successful programs cushioned programs that were less successful in obtaining grants and other means of funding. She said the funding shortage came on suddenly.
However, several former employees tell 10 Tampa Bay funds were "routinely mismanaged," and said the Board of Directors has known about the financial issues for months without taking proactive measures.
"While I understand why they would say that," Votta said. "I don't think that we can pinpoint one thing. There were a lot of solutions along the way. We just ran out of options."
Tampa Crossroads oversaw multiple programs including the Behavioral Wellness (BeWell) Center, the Rose Manor home and treatment center for women, a career center, the SSVF Veterans Assistance Center and it owns an affordable housing complex called Eco Oaks Apartments.
The abrupt closure last week left many who relied on its services confused and angry.
A couple, both veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces, said they were in the process of working with Tampa Crossroads' veterans assistance program to get their family of six into a home. Right now, Army veteran John Newman and his girlfriend, Air Force veteran Katherine Licwov, are living with relatives.
"When these people said they were going to help us out, I mean, it was this huge pressure was lifted off of our shoulders," Newman explained. "We went through the application process and we were just waiting for them to pay the deposit."
Tampa Crossroads' SSVF program used grant money from Veterans Affairs to help veterans like Licwov and Newman find housing. The couple had been approved to have the program pay 70% of their rent for the first three months as well as the deposit.
It was on Veterans Day, the same day they planned to move into their new home when they learned they would not be receiving any of that money.
"No explanation. Nobody will answer any of our questions," Newman said. "We don't even know what to do right now. It's been a total loss."
Now, the family's future is in limbo.
"We don't know if we're going to get help anymore," Newman said, "Our minds are kind of shifting towards, okay, what are we going to do?"
Former employees of Tampa Crossroads are still waiting on their final paychecks. Last week, they were told their paychecks could not be processed because of "insufficient funds."
"We are working as quickly as possible to get people paid for the work that they have done," Votta told 10 Tampa Bay on Tuesday. "And it's taking a little bit longer without staff, without people that we can pay to do that for us."
"Our focus has been on to try to get the people that we serve placed in programs where they can be taken care of," Votta explained. "And then our job right now is to get people paid for the work that they've done as quickly as possible."
At this point, Tampa Crossroads is not filing for bankruptcy, according to Votta.
"That is not the plan currently," she said. "We have asset assets that we're able to liquidate."