Bellflower : Ecumenical Council Opens Referral Center for Needy

A regional center that administrators say will become the area’s first one-stop agency for the needy in Bellflower, Lakewood, Norwalk and Paramount, recently opened on Washington Street at the Bellflower Church of God.

The Mid-Cities Help Center, which was established by the South Coast Ecumenical Council, will not only provide food and clothing but will also become a coordinated referral agency.

Ed Varnum, director of the center, said there are many resources for needy or homeless people in the area, but there is often no communication among the agencies. What results, Varnum said, is the equivalent of a bureaucratic runaround in which the needy are often referred to the wrong place for help. The Mid-Cities Help Center, he said, hopes to put a stop to that.

“It’s been so frustrating for the people out on the street,” Varnum said. “They know what it is to wait for help, and there is no reason why they should have to wait. They don’t need that.”

The center, which is run by volunteers, is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesdays. Varnum said that until the center receives more volunteers and money, it cannot stay open more than once a week.