The Roberto Clemente 21 Sports Program has managed to keep its regular season going, despite having been homeless since the Hispanic Office for Planning and Evaluation (HOPE) closed in April.
The youth sports program was sponsored and managed by HOPE and Alfredo Liriano, its coordinator, had his office in the HOPE building before he was locked out, losing access to all his documents and equipment.
“I still haven’t been able to get to my paperwork,” Liriano told the Gazette. “We’re still trying to find a new location.”
Liriano explained that the sports season is going ahead as planned largely due to the generosity of sponsors and neighbors who allowed him to order necessities on credit or who loaned him equipment.
“I’m really happy they did that…very grateful,” Liriano said.
Liriano has been able to get to some of his financial documents and “get the kids playing,” he said, but he still hasn’t been able to hold any regular meetings due to a lack of a regular space.
“I’m hoping to get a [new] location,” Liriano said. “We’ll see what happens.
“There are people out there willing to help. As long as they’re willing to do that, we’ll be OK,” he said.
For more information, Liriano can be reached at 828-9524 or at [email protected].