In the four years since the Yours Ours Mine Community Center launched fund raising for their Courtyard and Sensory Garden Project, only 72 bricks have been laid.

The project was intended to be an ongoing, long-term one; yet, with devastating cuts in funding and difficulty selling the bricks, YOM is facing a compromising situation as members are trying to find ways to continue running the center.

"It's a slow process, but it's a good project. Some in the community don't even know it exists. But anyone interested just has to call," said YOM President and CEO James Edmondson.

YOM is a tax-exempt, not-for-profit community center that provides services to over 7,000 people ages 3 and up in the Levittown community. Programs range from pre-kindergarten, child and adult day care, family life/youth development to chemical dependency treatment.

Last year, the organization held a $1.9 million budget. Due to cuts last December, YOM lost $1.5 million. Since then, Edmondson has had to reorganize funding within the center and has had to cut back on several programs.

"The family life youth development project is on hold. I had to terminate the social worker last year because I didn't have money," Edmondson said. "We don't have the Friday Night Leisure Time program anymore. The Gerald R. Claps Career and Technical Center is no longer operational. There have been a lot of cuts."

YOM used to receive funding from Long Island United Way, also a not-for-profit organization that distributes money among organizations in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. It also used to receive funding from the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services.

"One year we didn't get any funding from our state legislature, because the state didn't pass the budget. This time hopefully we'll get some," said Edmondson, in reference to the recent state budget passing.

Though funding for the organization has tightened, the Courtyard and Sensory Garden project is still in the works.

"Cutbacks really have nothing to do with the courtyard," said Louise Cassano, project coordinator of the courtyard. "This is an independent fund-raising project started by the board of trustees. It's just a matter of word getting around."

Edmondson agrees, pointing to the need for donors.

"In order to get people to buy the bricks, we have to ask the community to donate for a loved one or an organization, and then lay the brick down," Edmondson said.

The purpose for the Courtyard and Sensory Garden is to provide a place of solace and pastoral comfort for individuals, particularly those with sight and hearing impairments.

"The shrubs and trees figured into the plan included those with distinct fragrances and textures so people utilizing the garden could enjoy all of the sensory attractions of the garden," Cassano said.

The cost of the bricks is $100. Sponsorships for these bricks start at that level and can go as high as $25,000. Currently, the highest sponsorship are three $1,000 donations from the Levittown Chamber of Commerce, the Levittown Island Trees Youth Council and from Mauro and Louise Cassano. A list of sponsorship opportunities can be found on www.yoursoursmine.org. Applications can be downloaded and sponsors can have engravings put on their bricks. A ceremony is held for the donors when the bricks are laid down.