Young At Heart 
`and They Still Didn't Come' 
When Sylvia Strauss Savitz Returned To Wilkes University This Summer To 
Complete Her Bachelor's Degree At The Age Of 83, She Found Her Fellow 
Students- Who Were Significantly Younger- Weren't Quite As Committed As She.

Adeline James

By STEVE MOCARSKY; Times Leader Staff Writer
 Sunday, December 27, 1998 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 9A 





New federal grants aimed at reducing homelessness will bring 24-hour child
care to the Wyoming Valley next year. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development totaling
more than $1.8 million will be used for several new child-care and educational
programs in the area. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; The Catholic Youth Center of Wyoming Valley on South Washington Street in
Wilkes-Barre will receive $949,921 to expand its child day-care hours from 7
a.m. to 5:30 p.m. to 24 hours a day. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Also, the Commission on Economic Opportunity will receive $730,037 to help
homeless families find permanent places to live, and Luzerne County
Intermediate Unit 18 will receive $180,600 to provide more educational support
services to children in homeless families. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Mark Soprano, CYC associate executive director, said the extended
child-care hours will allow homeless parents to take second and third-shift
jobs that otherwise would not be options because of a lack of child-care. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 "With a particular company like the CallCenter coming and hiring a lot of
second- and third-shift workers and not paying a lot, it might not be feasible
for homeless parents to take the jobs," Soprano said. "But the extended hours
would allow them to work and still afford child-care and hopefully have
affordable living." &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soprano said the CYC set a possible target date of July 1, 1999, to begin
the extended hours, and the grant money will provide financial support to the
program for three years. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soprano expects at least 10 new full-time child-care jobs will be created
during the first year of the program to handle the approximately 250
additional children he expects the center will be accepting. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 About 150 children- from infants through 13 years old- are enrolled in the
center's program during the school year, and that number rises to about 500
during the summer, Soprano said. He said a possible expansion of the
facilities might be necessary if the program is very successful. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Soprano said the Commission on Economic Opportunity will manage the cases
to be funded by the grants and will make referrals to the CYC day care
program. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The commission will use some of its own grant funds to assist a homeless
family in paying first month's rent, security deposits and other costs
encountered when attaining a permanent residence. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Commission Executive Director Gene Brady said the program will improve the
quality of life in the count

24-hour Child Care Set To Help Homeless Additional Programs Will Help Families With Housing And Schooling For Their Children