ECHO PARK : A Lifeline for Youths at Risk

Hanging on a wall in the offices of El Centro del Pueblo, an Echo Park community service agency, are six plaques from the city of Los Angeles that recognize the “outstanding citizenship and activities enhancing community betterment” of neighborhood gangs.

The gangs--Eighteenth Street, Temple Street, Echo Park, Diamond Street, Aztlan and White Fence--received the commendations in 1988 for helping with the annual Sunset Junction Street Fair, an event that fostered cooperation between gays and gangs.

“We keep the plaques up there for young people to see their history,” said Louis Jacinto, El Centro’s youth and family counseling coordinator.

Since the mid-1970s, El Centro has helped the community’s gang members and other youths and their families through rough times, said Sandra Figueroa, the agency’s director. Last year, about 1,000 people came to the agency for counseling, educational programs and guidance through the mazes of the social service and judicial systems.

“When there is a problem in the community, we develop a program to address it,” said Robert Aguayo, the deputy director and a former client. The agency’s limited resources--it has an annual budget of $1 million and a staff of 20--however, mean that “for every kid we work with, there are five others we can’t get to,” he said.

A persistent problem has been the lure of gangs. Drawing on Aguayo’s own gang experiences, El Centro’s staff recognizes that gangs often satisfy a youth’s desire for belonging, protection and a feeling of importance.

“But we tell them that being in a gang is only part of you,” Aguayo said. “There’s school, a job. Don’t make the gang your entire world.”

One of the lifelines thrown to youths at risk by El Centro and the Los Angeles Unified School District is a continuation high school program, one of 43 funded and operated by the district.

Clara Salazar, the teacher at El Centro’s continuation school, said the programs give dropouts, teen-age mothers and students who are behind in their work a second chance to complete high school--away from often negative influences and intense peer pressure.

Michael Peters, one of the 16 students in the program, often skipped class at Belmont High School. But at El Centro, away from distractions, he’s focused on his work.

“I knew if I came here I’d do the work,” said Peters, 16, the father of a 5-month-old girl. “I can go at my own pace and still have time for my job and for my baby.”

El Centro also employs some of its students after school to help with maintenance and answering phones.

“It’s my first chance to have a job,” said 18-year-old Ricardo Matamoros. He plans to graduate this year; his brother Daniel, 16, is studying to get enough credits to return to 10th grade at a regular high school.

Jacinto said education gives youths more options and nourishes dreams beyond the streets.

“I tell them that in the future, when I go to vote, I want to see their names on the ballots, and when I call the police I want to see that they are the ones to come, and when I pick up a newspaper I want it to be their articles that I read.”