WESTMINSTER : White Van Means Let the Fun Begin

For most children living behind the Civic Center in a neighborhood known as the 15th Street apartments, going to the park to run, play games and just be outside is a luxury they rarely get to experience.

But this summer, the fun and games came to them in a white van that delivered balls, a portable basketball hoop, checkers and a “lawn” of green Astroturf three times a week to this low-income neighborhood.

The program was devised by the city Community Services and Recreation Department this year, said coordinator Diana Cook, with the intention of “providing a good, safe environment to the kids and giving them something to do other than watching TV or joining gangs.”

“This is recreation coming full circle, the way it used to be where we would go into the community,” Cook said. “We just want to stimulate positive attitudes among the kids more than anything else.”

About 125 children, ages 4 to 15, visit the free program, participating in a variety of scheduled activities including sports, crafts, water games and story time. A flyer goes out every Friday to parents informing them of the next week’s events, which might include a hot dog barbecue and lemonade for 50 cents.

Because many of the youngsters speak little or no English, the recreation staff hired for the eight-week program is trilingual.

Counselor Heather Hanh-Stenseng shifts between Spanish, English or her native Vietnamese from one moment to the next as children bombard her with requests. She said her favorite part of the program has been watching the children interact despite their language barriers.

“They’re so young they are not aware of their cultural differences, so there’s no tension among them like there is among adults,” she said.

She and co-supervisor, Jesus Silva, take the rented “Fun-on-Wheels” van to the 15th Street apartments on Monday, Wednesday and Friday and to another neighborhood, the La Pat apartments, on Tuesday and Thursday.

Program organizers decided on the two sites after police had targeted them as high-risk because of gangs and other related problems. The city had started cleanup efforts in both areas this year, according to Cook. Besides games, anti-gang and drug education is provided for children by police officers who visit regularly.

At both sites, the summer program has been enthusiastically welcomed by the children who come out in droves every day and by parents who have to put up with some minor inconveniences in order to make room for a play area.

At the 15th Street apartments, residents move their vehicles from one side of the parking lot, which is then roped off and transformed into a makeshift playground. At La Pat, a section of the street is closed off to traffic while the program is in session.

Even before the van arrives at 9 a.m., Silva said several children are already hanging out in the empty lot space, waiting for the fun to arrive. And when it ends at 3 p.m., he said, they reluctantly clean up the site, packing the balls and games away for the day.

The program’s success means that the van will be back next year, said Cook, and private donations are already being sought to supplement the Community Development Block Grants that funded the program, allowing expansion of the program and the purchase of another van.

But with the 1992 program ending this week, not everyone is happy. Jessica Marie Villalobos has made new friends this summer and enjoyed the craft sessions most. Said the 7-year-old: “I’ll be really sad when it ends.”