Ana Barragan Helping the Youth in the Echo Park Community

by Ana Barragan

How did Central City Action Committee and Centro Del Pueblo come about to be here in the Echo Park Community and what purpose do they have. Echo Park has been through it's ups and downs just like any other community. We've had gang violence, domestic violence, child abuse, spousal abuse, child neglect, murders, poverty incidents and many more. We have suffered so much that some people from the community decided to come up with Centers that will be able to help with these situations. Echo Park's population as of September 1998 is 18,664. There are 9,454 males and 9,210 females. The most spoken language here in Echo Park is Spanish followed by English, Asian and other languages. There are also 2,635 citizens in Echo Park and 10,636 non-citizens. Ethnicity wise they're 3,172 Asians, 443 Blacks, 11,730 Hispanics, 98 Native Americans and 3,084 Whites. Employment status indicates that there are more females employed than males. Before Echo Park got it's name it was only an arroyo that filled with water from a spring fed stream that originated in Baxter Street and it would flow into what is now named Echo Park. Two men by the name of Mr. Kelley and Dr. Wills donated the so called arroyo to the city. It was a 16-acre piece of land. It costs $5,637.00 to create the lake that is now filled with city water. The city appointed a park worker by the name of Mr. Tomlinson who lived in England for many years. He decided to model the park with something that reminded him of his childhood play life. When all his workers got started in creating the park he couldn't help by overhearing his workers talking on the other side of the park. He right away said "I know the name for this park", and that's when he came up with the name Echo Park, due to the echo he heard when his workers were talking. Echo park was then opened to the public in 1895. Echo Park has been known for the effort that community people put into it, also the many businesses that contribute their participation into many events. One recent situation that many businesses contributed to was the fencing of the 2000 block of Alvarado Street. It was the nuisance lot which was used as a miniature swapmeet in the weekend and also was used to dump trash, cars and many other things. Jackie Goldberg was real tired of this and she had asked the owner of that apartment building to fence it up, but they just ignored the problem. So what Jackie did was sent Conrado Terrazas who is a community organizer to many businesses around there to see if they would be able to help. Many said yes, they contributed some money to get that fence up. Some of these people who helped were Mike Taix from the Taix restaurant on Sunset Blvd. Right across from that empty lot, Bonnie Scalan who is the owner of a Domino's Pizza on Glendale Blvd. More names of people who donated were Jackie Levin, Durk Dehner and William Nettles. So many businesses in the Echo Park Community are very contributing as well as understanding. This is also what has kept the Community the way it is. Regardless of all the criticism that Echo Park gets due to the violence we've had and movies that have been made such as Mi Vida Loca, which totally gives Echo Park a bad reputation. Some of the actors who came out in the movie were residents of Echo Park. When people first see this movie their first impression is that all of Echo Park is gang infested, but in reality it's just like any other community in Los Angeles. Echo Park has many old buildings along with what is considered old junk that is not used in an adequate manner. One of the buildings is the Jensen's building which is on 1700 Sunset Blvd. This building is used as a community Center with apartments and commercial space. Jackie Goldberg is considering it for a Center that would help everyone in the community especially the youth. She wants to make it so that children can get away from the gang environment and begin to join these types of Centers which will have a gymnasium for those boys and girls who like to lift weights along with a computer lab. Many other things will be offered for this Center but they still have not come in agreement. This is pretty normal just like many other communities who wait for one certain type of answer, and sometimes answers take years, months or sometimes just days to get cleared up. There's also an old boat on an empty Echo Park lot which belongs to Art Goldberg, who is a lawyer in the Echo Park Community. He is lending out that piece of land to Jovenes Inc. which allows them to display their different type of arts that they have achieved. Art is a very involved community member who helps out many people of that community. This land will be lend until Art decides to make his new office. The whole point to all this is that Echo Park is a Community that has community neighbors helping out each other to try and better the community in which they live. They all know that miracles can't happen from one day to the other. Central City Action Committee was established in 1973 and it's a non- profit youth program that was founded by a group of concerned local citizens who were tired of seeing youth problems in the area. Central City is located on 1160 Glendale Blvd. In Los Angeles, CA 90026. Their telephone number is (213) 484-6083, FAX (213)4841080. When Central City first started it began with only four employees and has now gone up to twenty- six. Every year it helps about 250 youth's from the Echo Park, Temple Beaudry, China Town and surrounding communities. There programs consist of counseling, supervised recreations, organized sports, tutorial and employment preparation. Some of the fun things they do in the summer for kids are to take them camping and or offer them summer jobs. Every summer they offer jobs to youth's that range from ages 14-21, at non-profit organization. Central City gets their funding from three sources. One, being from the City of Los Angeles Community Development Department. Others include funds for their at- risk youth and their other Delinquency Prevention and Projects. These are experimental Delinquency Prevention Programs. They get referrals from schools, police and from the rest of the Criminal Justice System. Central City always receives contributions ranging from donated goods, office and janitorial supplies, donated transportation and camping equipment also tickets to various movies and sporting events. They also bring in cash that is raised by families and community workers. They have tamale luncheons, participations in fairs, carnivals and even a booth in the Sunset Junction Fair and in the Lotus Festival. Central City also receives grants from special programs such as mask making and other arts and crafts. They also have a writer workshop and a theater project. They also receive grants from the Department of Public Works for graffiti removal and community clean-ups. They are responsible for the area that extends from Third street to Lincoln Heights and from Chinatown to Hoover. They have donated a lot of machinery to get rid of graffiti and vandalism off walls. The people who participate in the removal of graffiti are paid staff who supervise small groups of community service referrals, both adult and youth. Most of their staff is from the area and this is, so that they can relate to the problems that are going on and can even put an end to it. The graffiti is removed seven days a week. This Center is extremely thankful for all the volunteers that participate in all the events they have. These volunteers help out passing out water at the marathons, help clean-up after events as-well as set them. They are so thankful for all the volunteers because they say that without them, Central City will not be were it is now. The reason I chose the Echo Park Community is because I have been living here for over 23 years and I have seen many families, youth's and community destructions. During High School I entered an Internship Program with my teacher being Mr. Takofsky who is now on the board of directors for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Being an Intern gave me the opportunity to work at Central City for a whole school semester. It was a great experience, there I helped answer phones, tutor, create new art projects, help with the removal of graffiti, participate in outdoor trips and volunteer at special events. By the end of the school semester we had to make a ten minute video that was all about Central City Action Committee. At the time they had sent four of us Interns to do some hours there at the Center. I also was there to listen to children speak to me about their problems and or adventures. For instance, I spoke to a nine-year-old boy who said that his mother and him were sleeping in an abandoned room in an unstable apartment complex. He said that the owner had kicked them out because his mom hadn't paid the rent for the past five months. I still remember his eyes watering up when he told me this, he also said that was the reason why he was doing so poorly in school. He said "One day I'm going to be an apartment owner and I'm going to invite all the families that don't have any money to stay here for free." I took this opportunity to go ahead and tell the director of Central City which was Maryann to see what she can do about it, and sure enough they were in a home that very same day. Every day I went there, I felt like they were all family to me, they were all so carrying and understanding and friendly people. I met this guy who was sixteen, he told me that he had been working for Central City for almost a year because his dad left him, his six-year-old brother and his mother. He said his dad was a heavy drinker and would always hit them for no reason. He told me that he was glad his dad left them because he said he was almost getting to the point were he was going to hit him back. This was the reason in which he began to work for Central City Removal Program. Although he struggled and tried to support his family he still made it through, now he has a family of his own. He has a two-year-old son and is now happily married and he still continues to volunteer in the Graffiti Program for Central City at-least once a week. Another incident that came to us was about a young lady who came to us crying. She had told us that her husband had beat her just because it was the second day she hadn't cooked dinner when he got home from work. We were all devastated and we couldn't believe this had gone on. She was left with a big bruise on her left arm and her side of the face was pretty red. We told her to call the police and she said "NO", because her husband would come back at her twice as strong. We told her if you don't do it, we will. She didn't like that idea. We finally had to call the cops and they picked him up that very same day, but she refused to press charges on him. Her other excuse besides being scared was that she loved him too much and she didn't want her child to grow up without a dad. (Like in L.A. Confidential, when Bud White socks his so called girlfriend just because he's mad.) While being there in Central City I got to see many youth's that were in need of help. For instance I would see guys coming in the office with a bunch of tattoos all over their bodies, from the top of their heads to the bottom of their feet. It did kind of scare me at first but I got use to it. Many would go in there seeking for help so that they can get out of their gangs, but for some it would be to late. Two brothers went in one day talking to a counselor from the Center and they said that they were in their rival gang's list to be the next to die. The counselor got scared and helped the two brothers move away to their aunt's house who lived in Oxnard, California. They are now doing fine, both graduated from High School and both are working for an after school program that helps kids avoid gangs, and their both there, as examples that people can overcome gangs. We had this one girl who also was part of a gang and she never told anyone that she was in a really bad situation. One day her mom phoned the Center telling us that if we knew where her daughter was, we said no. The mom called the police and they did everything they could to try to look for her, but there was no luck. They finally found her two days later, beat up behind a dumpster. She was full of bruises, cuts, scratches and also had practically no clothes on. She got well after two weeks. She then went back to the Center and asked us to get her out of the gang. The Center was able to help her by counseling her and moving her from schools and finding her family a new place to stay. She now is happy and regrets all the problems she gave her family and she thanks Central City for being there for her. I believe the reason why many of these children spoke to me about their problems was because I was just a little bit older than them and I spoke to them like a typical teenager would speak to one another. I also attended many of their trips such as football games, movies, the circus, dances, high school games, museums, carnivals, marathon races, fund raisers, swimming pool activities and many more. Some kids were so attached to me that their own parents wouldn't let them go anywhere unless I was going to be able to supervise them. I still remember this one boy who always called me Kelley Bundy, he said I resembled her, but I don't know from were. He was a nice ten year old boy who later got involved in gangs. I remember seeing him out late at night with his baggy pants and his baggy football jerseys along with his tatted up friends who were also dressed like him. At this time he was thirteen years old. One day I became so concerned that I went back to the Center and I asked what had happened to him. Richard who was still working there at that time told me that he just started hanging out with the wrong crowd, he said he saw him in a corner with some of his friends and when he tried to approach him he turned and walked the other way. A couple of weeks after that, Central City called me and told me that they had received a phone call from that boy's mother and she told them that her son almost over dozed on PCP. We were all sadden by that, but she said that he was recuperating slowly. A month later he went back to the Center and asked for help, everyone there was glad to see him back. He even apologized to Richard for ignoring him that night. Central City gave him a position with the graffiti crew so that he can spend his spare time helping remove graffiti instead of hanging out with his gangster friends. Before he was allowed to work with the graffiti crew he needed to attend some counseling sessions which he later said really changed his life. He became such a different person starting from the way he dressed, he didn't wear those big dickies any more. He let his hair grow out and began to dress like a normal sized individual, by this I mean no more baggy clothes. His vocabulary also improved he stopped talking like a gangster as well. He now thanks Central City for all that they've done for him. The Center has helped a lot of people and will continue to do so with the communities help. As for me I still go down to visit Central City once in a while. I have many friends who are still volunteering and working for that Center. I also thank Central City for getting me my first job. While a senior at Marshall High School I got the opportunity to work at Domino's Pizza. Lori who worked for the Center had told me to go to Domino's and ask for an application. I did and Bonnie who was the owner, which I didn't know at that time gave me an interview all at once. I could still remember her saying "Anyone with a smile like your's of course would get hired immediately." I began to work the very next day. Not only people with a bad background need help, as for me all I needed was a job so that I can pay my way through my senior year. I am so glad Central City was there for me in that way. All of the workers are very kind to everyone and they also can get on your case if you are doing something wrong. Central City has been known to be a home away from home. By this I mean the youth go and meet up with their friends and do their homework on the computers that they had available for them. Once they were finished with their homework they would go and play ball, swim or maybe just go and eat across the street to either Burger King, McDonald's, Kentucky or Domino's. They seem to all get along just fine from what I observed. It was a great experience to of had the opportunity to be a part of this Center because it has encouraged me to tell others from my community that there is help for them out there if they need it. El Centro Del Pueblo is another community based organization founded by local concerned citizens. This Center was established in 1974 . It is located on 1157 Lamina Street Los Angeles, California 90026. You can call them at (213) 483-6335 or FAX(213) 483-5523. This Center services in the prevention of gang violence through prevention, intervention and education. Their main mission is to be able to provide social services such as counseling, drug prevention, social rehabilitation, employment, outreach, education, health services, and youth services in an effort to improve the quality of life of the diverse communities of Los Angeles County. El Centra Del Pueblo's most recent accomplishments have been resolving family issues to prevent violence. El Centra Del Pueblo is considered to be one of the best Youth Advocacy Programs by the city of Los Angeles Community Development Department. The Los Angeles County Department of Children's Services has also recognized their collaborative efforts and has contracted with them the provided family preservation services needed as far as foster care. This Center has also been recognized by the Los Angeles County Probation Department for providing day- treatment and in-home services as well as probation camp, which the Center has participated in for fifteen years. The mayor even asked them to be a part of the Neighbor to Neighbor Program which addresses the problems in the community. This is where the neighbors get together and talk about the civil disturbances that have occurred or that may occur. Youth from all of the different gangs around this community participate in leadership and employment skills training as well as our other programs. They have a program called the County Justice Subvention Program which allows them to employ these gangsters as well as some families that are in need. They also offer counseling, conflict resolutions, gang violence reduction by the help of the State Office of Criminal Justice. El Centra Del Pueblo's main goals are to enhance the self-esteem and social adjustment skills among youth as well as reducing negative activity. Some of the youth's that El Centro Del Pueblo has to help are those who are sent to them by referrals either from local schools, law enforcement agencies and the Los Angeles County Probation Department. El Centro Del Pueblo is made up of 30 staff members. Their ethnic/cultural composition is 83% Latino, 13% White, 3% Filipino, 20% Gay/Lesbian, 26% of the staff and Board are women. Sandra Figueroa who is the Director of El Centro Del Pueblo has been very nice, patient and very helpful. She has been working for this Center for over 20 years. She loves her job very much because she said that she meets a new person every day. I first met her at my moms work about four months ago. Her little two year old daughter attends my moms pre- school here in the Echo Park area. When I first went into the Center I was kind of scared because there were big time cholos outside the building. I pretended I didn't see them but then later they walked right up to the office and began to talk to me. They ended up being really nice people. Centro Del Pueblo has classes for parents as well as children. Some of the classes they have for parents are Individual and Family Development, Awareness and Education, Community Events and Special Projects, Information and Referrals, Health and Fitness, Self Help Group Discussions, Personal Outreach and Intervention, Recovery Sessions, Social and Recreational Activities, Support Services for finding work and most importantly Coffee and Snacks. In order to receive these free services, you must be a low income and a resident of the Echo Park, Temple Beaudry, Silverlake, Pico Union, Elysian Valley, Hollywood or Central City Communities. They also have counseling sessions in Spanish for those that can't speak any English. The fundings for these types of events are provided by the Los Angeles County Alcohol and Drug Program Administration. El Centro Del Pueblo also offers Emergency Services such as Low Income/Welfare Options, Emergency Food and Shelter, Immigration, Landlord/Tenant Rights, Homeless Issues, Housing, Document Translation, Completion of Forms, Court/Legal Procedures, and Court Referred Volunteers. These are also for low income families. Some of the help that the youth can receive are Academic Counseling, Employment Counseling, Family Counseling, Individual Counseling, Court Advocacy, Community Awareness, and Group Workshops. These services are also for the youth that are considered to be low income. While being at El Centro Del Pueblo for over a month I got to meet many interesting people along with many interesting problems. I remember my first day there, I was really timid and shy. This one guy who was 27 and had lots of tattoos all over his body and head approached me in a very respectful manner. He asked me what was I doing here and I told him that I was doing a twenty page report on the two youth Centers in the Echo Park Community. He began talking to me about many of his problems that he has had in the past. He began by telling me that he had a two year old son who got shot by mistake. Him and his son were on there way to a Dodger game when a bullet aimed for him struck his son on the head and he died immediately. "Ever since I was small I was part of a gang, my dad would take me everywhere he would go and nothing ever happened to me." These were his final words as he got up to go to the restroom. I never heard from him after that. I would see him around the Center but all he would do was smile and turn away, as if he didn't want to talk to me. I wanted to approach him a couple a times just to tell him that I really appreciated him telling me about his kid, but I never got the chance to. One day when I spoke to Sandra the director from El Centro Del Pueblo she told me that he was seeking help to overcome that big tragedy in his life as well as leaving the gang scene behind. When I heard her telling me that I felt that there was hope for him because he was practically there every day. Another day that I was there, a lady came in with her two small children. She was telling us that the building in which she lives never got fixed ever since one of the big earthquakes. She told us that her neighbors could see everything she was doing through some of the cracks that keep opening up more and more every day due to the earthquakes. There were also chunks of the roof that were falling off day by day, she was even scared to sleep there because she thought the roof would all collapse on them one day. She was so mad she said she didn't know what to do, so she came to the Center to see if they would help her. What the Center did was get an investigation going on the women's apartment building. They reported it to the City and the City took care of it during that week, with the owner paying for most of the expenses. That earthquake incident reminds me of some of the one's we've read about in (Ecology Of Fear). The lady thanked El Centro Del Pueblo by sending flowers to the office along with a thank you card. This Center has many people working for it, some of these people have also received help from the Center in the past. The staff is very nice, respectful and knows how to deal with problems in an appropriate manner. The staff needs to be strong at heart in order to work there. What I mean by that is that they not need to get their emotions involved with any of the people. This tends to sadden more the feelings of the individual who is being cared for. They put their employees through a test before having them work there. If they don't pass they get a free session of counseling all for themselves just so that they can learn to control their emotions with other people. I, right away new that I wouldn't qualify for the job because I began to tear on my first day there when the 27 year old began telling me about his son. El Centro Del Pueblo's meetings always tend to take place in a donated space. What I mean by this is sometimes a restaurant might donate a meeting room for them or maybe a park gymnasium might be offered, in some cases even an individual's home might be used. People from the Center always find somewhere to have a meeting sometimes when it's hot they kind of like to have them outdoors on the grass of Echo Park, which no one ever disagrees. Speaking of Summer, they give youth's the opportunity to work in government funded places. One of the places they send the youth's that are between the ages of 16-18 is to my mom's work, which is Silverlake People's Child Care Center. My mom says these kids are very hard working and they know how to treat the young kids. The only thing that they don't like about many of these youth's is that many of them dress in gangster attire and there for doesn't look to professional. For instance, some of them have tatoos and one day a little four year old girl said she wanted to get a tatoo on her arm. This really caught my attention because I believe kids should not be exposed to an environment like that. I talked to the pre-school staff about it and they say that there is nothing they can do about it because the government pays them as well as they pay the pre-school staff. They've mentioned it to Sandra from El Centro Del Pueblo but she says that she's told them, but does not really want to push them too much because she feels that they will turn around and go back in the wrong direction. The pre-school staff agreed with her, but they still don't like that type of environment for their kids, especially after that one comment the four year old made. The youth that El Centro Del Pueblo sends to that pre- school is like I said very hard working and very sweet with the kids and the other staff. At the end of the summer the staff from the pre-school get together and chip in for a special dinner that is given to those members of the Center. They are always so grateful that they always return for a visit to the pre-school bringing flowers and candy to all the staff and children. This is not the only place that they send the youth to work. They send them to clinics, camp sights, different types of offices, parks and carnivals. This is a good opportunity for the youth to earn some cash while being on vacation usually for about three months. A 17 year old girl spoke to me about a fire incident that she was in. She said that she was going door to door in some apartment buildings selling candy to help El Centro Del Pueblo. She began to get the smell of fire. She saw three little kids running around on their own. She didn't see any adults around, she began to scream so that people could come out. The children were frightened and so she grabbed the two smallest ones and told the other one to follow her out of the building. She then was thanked by the children's parents who had no idea were their kids were. This also was part of a disaster that we read about in (Ecology Of Fear), were the two white ladies ran out of the house with out the maids but they sure didn't forget their pet animals. This 17 year old was very brave and was given an award by El Centro Del Pueblo and the Los Angeles Fire Department for all her bravery and hard work. This Center has dealt with many difficult situations as well as many hard working responsible people. The community members that attend many of these meetings and or events are very grateful for having a center like this one which not only deals with youth's but grown ups as well. Both these Centers have proven to serve the Community of Echo Park very deeply. Although one concentrates more on youth's while the other on both youth's and grown ups. They both have had very much appreciation from the community members as well as the city. The majority of the individuals who are helped by both Centers have succeeded in the world today. Some continue trying as each Center also continues to put dedication into them. Many Communities should be able to have some type of access that allows them to get help in this similar matter. There are people out there in today's world who wonder how they can go about setting up their own youth Centers for their communities. One of the things you have to do to start up your Center is perhaps call Central City and or El Centro Del Pueblo so that they can guide you in all the steps necessary to get started. Some people think that if you don't belong to the area you wont get helped. You will receive help, only by a different Center that deals with your part of town. There are many different Centers all over the city and the world. There's a Center for children that are into sports. For example, one is the Athletic Center which Holenbeck is known for. They give children the opportunity to use their motor skills after they have had a long day at school. This Center got created so that children will not get involved with gangs and choose to come and play many different sports. Another type of Center that helps children is the AAF (The Amateur Athletic Foundation of Los Angeles) which is on 2141 W. Adams Blvd. This Center is a private nonprofit institution. The Amherst Youth Board is another youth Center which helps the Village of Williamsville. The IYP Youth Activities which is a supporter for 12 youth groups only provides help when any Center needs help economically or if they have certain questions that can't be answered. There's also out of State Centers, one being the Family Resource and Youth Services Centers, in Kentucky (KERA). There are many different Centers in the whole world that can provide help to those that need it. This should motivate those in need to think and acknowledge the help that is waiting for them out there in today's world. It might also motivate you to get started with a Center yourself. If there's so many out there then it shouldn't be hard to get one started, that should be the question These Centers are really flexible with all the community people. If there's a transportation problem they'll have one ready for you in no time. If for instance you can't attend a certain meeting due to work, they will have a meeting just for you, one on one. Both these Centers have really given many children the opportunity to succeed as well as overcome their fears in life. Hopefully now that I have given you an idea of what these Centers are all about, I hope you can benefit from them as well as all these people did while I was there observing and interviewing. If it's not you who's in need, you might want to tell a friend or maybe even a neighbor who might benefit from this type of help.