A northeast Columbus dance studio for youth is under financial pressure after its rent more than doubled.
Carmen Alston owns the C Dance studio on East 14th Avenue near John Glenn Columbus International Airport.
Alston said her rent went from $2,300 a month to more than $5,000 a month. Close to 60 kids are in the program.
Alston said her non-profit dance studio is one of the few Black-owned studios in the city for youth.
Alston is struggling to keep the studio going, but she said it's worth it.
"We have a lot of kids in our community that just want to belong, feel safe, you know, some that might go through abuse, even some parents that go through things, they're just happy their kids can be there."
Isaiah Hogan was in the program more than a decade ago for two years when he was 13 and 14. Now 29, Hogan said the program made a difference in his life.
"C Dance gave me the opportunity to really explore and to really live out that long-awaited dream. To see people that looked like me, that believed in technique and of being a safe haven, a safe space," Hogan said.
Tamika Ward's two daughters, ages 14 and 13, have been dancing at the studio for more than a decade.
"It taught them how to follow structure, how to make new friends," Ward said.
Alston said the program is important for participants.
"It brings them self worth. They feel like they're somebody. They're noticed," Alston said.
The rent increase happened more than a year ago, but Alston said it's now starting to hit hard. Alston, a former corrections officer, said she and her husband, a retired firefighter, have dug into their own accounts to pay bills.
A GoFundMe page has been set up.
