South Whittier : Groundwork Begins at Site for Social Services Center

Groundwork has begun on the site of a planned social services center for unincorporated South Whittier. The center, scheduled to open in one to three months, will host satellite offices for a variety of county agencies and charitable organizations.

The goal is to provide services ranging from basic health checkups to job placement for residents in neighborhoods that have been neglected by the county for decades, said Joseph Castro, a Santa Fe Springs city administrator who will coordinate the project.

The center will be housed in a nine-room, 24-by-60-foot trailer across Lakeland Road from Mayberry Park. The first-year cost will be $45,400. Neighboring Santa Fe Springs will pay $10,000 to prepare the site for the trailer. The county will bear the remaining costs with federal funds set aside to aid low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

The center is being organized under the auspices of the City/County Project, a joint effort of Santa Fe Springs and the county, which is already involved in renovating homes, removing graffiti, enforcing building codes and forming Neighborhood Watch groups.