Down but not out: Center resumes free legal advice despite money crunch

Financial problems have forced the Harbor Gateway Center to curtail some of its community services, but the nonprofit center, still struggling to survive, is again offering legal advice by telephone after a six-week hiatus.

The center’s phones, used to give legal advice to low-income, mostly Latino residents of the Harbor Gateway area near Gardena, went unanswered after money ran out Oct. 15. Center Director Julia Rodriguez, the only full-time employee, was forced to leave after her paid working hours were cut from 30 a week to nine.

Despite the financial problems and her departure, hot meals for senior citizens, Head Start programs, English as a second language, and adult sewing classes have not been interrupted.

Need Is Driving Force

“What’s keeping us going is people in the area really need our services,” said Phyllis Tyler-Wayman, pastor of the First United Methodist Church on West 165th Street, on whose grounds the center is housed. “The people on the east side of Vermont Avenue are unattended people. Our building is really the only large building in the area that can be used for community services.”

The center has received several thousand dollars in donations since October but requires much more than that to stay afloat, Tyler-Wayman said. About $100,000 is needed to renovate the aging two-story building, and $25,000 a year more is needed to hire another full-time director.

Although there is only $1,500 in the center’s treasury, primarily from private donations, translation and legal services are continuing on a limited basis.

Appeals for Funds

The center is seeking money from the cities of Los Angeles and Gardena. It went before the Gardena City Council last week to request funds from the Department of Recreation and Human Services, and has also sought aid from Los Angeles Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores’ office, Tyler-Wayman said.

Gardena Assistant City Manager Mitch Lansdell said staffers are studying the request for funds and will report to the City Council in 30 days. In the meantime, he said, Gardena city agencies will continue to offer hot meals and other services to people referred from Harbor Gateway.

Tyler-Wayman said the center will also seek grants from the church’s headquarters and from social service agencies. The process is a slow one, but the center hopes to be in full swing by early next year.

“I’m optimistic about getting a full-time director and renovating the center,” she said. “I’m optimistic that we will get help, if we communicate our need to the community.”