Q&A
Financial struggles faced by early childhood centers
0:30:18
·
162 sec
Council Member Mercedes Narcisse and Ingrid Matias Chungata discuss the severe financial challenges faced by early childhood centers due to delayed payments and budget issues. The conversation reveals the personal and professional toll these financial struggles take on center directors and staff.
- Matias Chungata reveals that Nuestros Niños has depleted its savings and had to take out a loan to make payroll.
- The center applied for a city loan for the first time in its 52-year history.
- The financial stress has caused significant personal strain on Matias Chungata, including weight loss and sleepless nights.
- The discussion highlights the lack of communication and support from city officials in addressing these financial issues.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:30:18
How's your payroll?
0:30:19
Because if you're not getting money, you're not getting paid and those educators, how are they getting paid?
0:30:25
So we have payroll tomorrow.
0:30:27
And then where's the money?
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:30:28
I begged.
0:30:30
I put a loan out.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:30:34
I didn't want to take you there, but I have to take you there because I know I have been there where the money is not coming and you cannot make payroll.
0:30:41
So how is it?
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:30:42
I'm sorry.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:30:44
That's okay.
0:30:45
That's okay.
0:30:46
So they want to know that it's real when you cannot do it.
0:30:49
Go ahead.
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:30:50
I cleaned our accounts.
0:30:52
There's nothing.
0:30:53
We have nothing.
0:30:54
Fifty two years of savings of having a cushion, it's all gone.
0:30:59
There's nothing.
0:31:00
But I needed to make sure that my staff got paid tomorrow.
0:31:04
So my HR called me this morning she goes, Ingrid are we gonna be able to process payroll?
0:31:10
And I said give me a minute and I took everything I mean it's barely nothing there, but my staff had to get paid tomorrow and that's why I do this and there's no way that I could go home and just think that they would not be able to have money especially it's, you know, it's the end of the month.
0:31:34
It's the first time in West Virginia's history that we had to apply for a loan through the city.
0:31:40
I sent an an email yesterday, I responded, I'm still to hear from anyone.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:31:46
And your bank is not giving you a loan.
0:31:48
I'm
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:31:48
sure that I applied for a loan through the bank but that takes weeks, that takes months.
Simone Hawkins
0:31:54
Mhmm.
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:31:54
But also we are using money that we're not getting interest off.
Linda Lee
0:31:58
Mhmm.
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:31:58
So it's like we're giving the city of New York a loan, a free loan.
0:32:03
You know, I do fundraising.
0:32:06
Since I started Nuecros Ninos, I had two successful gala and that was to implement a regio program, but that has all gone to the day to day of the organization.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:32:16
And I don't even have to ask you how you sleep because when you cannot make payroll knowing you have staff waiting for you, I know it's a lot of stress.
Ingrid Matias Chungata
0:32:25
I don't sleep.
0:32:26
I have lost 15 pounds through this process because it's so unheard of that a decision like that could be made and a call cannot be made prior to get the data straight, to figure out what's going on.
0:32:41
And I felt as I've been doing this work for over twenty years and I work in corporate.
0:32:46
I know what it is to work for someone that doesn't care about you.
0:32:50
And the reason why I made the transition to nonprofit was because I thought that this was a community where we all working for the same goal.
Mercedes Narcisse
0:33:00
And you're doing amazing work because you're preparing the future of New York City.