ORGANIZATIONS : Tragedy Sparks Parents’ Mission : Couple whose 15-year-old son was killed in Chatsworth over a beeper form a group to find ways to combat rising crime.

Sheltered in the suburbs, blessed with three healthy teen-agers, Clark and Lin Squires assumed they were safe from the problems of the streets.

One November night two years ago changed that forever. Their son, Marc, 15, was shot to death at a party in Chatsworth. When they buried him, they gave birth to a new cause.

“Everybody has to realize that it can happen to them,” said Lin Squires of Granada Hills, who, along with Clark, founded MARC--Mad About Rising Crime. “It can happen to normal people like us, not just someone on Skid Row. Kids here never had any trouble. We didn’t think about any of this stuff.”

These days, they think about almost nothing else. MARC has held six public meetings, with the next scheduled for Monday night at United Methodist Church in Northridge. About 150 people have attended each meeting.

Lt. Kyle Jackson, commanding officer of detectives at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Devonshire Division, said MARC has served an important purpose.

“They send the message to families that we all have to work together,” Jackson said. “Everyone has a responsibility to stop crime.”

MARC has presented testimony from ex-offenders who were involved in armed robbery and drug pushing, and from experts on the gang problem in the San Fernando Valley. Monday’s gathering will focus on how residents can protect themselves during the upcoming holiday season.

“We don’t want to frighten people,” Lin Squires said. “We want to prepare them. During holiday time, criminals know your house is full of gifts.”

For the Squires, the mission to inform the public comes at the expense of deep, personal anguish. Each time they address a high school class or hold a group meeting, the pain from their son’s death is felt again.

“If we can just save one kid from joining a gang,” said Clark Squires, “we’ve done something. The positives outweigh the negatives.”

The Squires said they first thought about forming MARC within hours of their son’s death. Marc Squires, a member of a group of disc jockeys who worked teen-age parties, was killed by Bayardo Martinez, 18, in a dispute over Marc’s beeper. Martinez pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, and is serving a 15-year-to-life prison sentence.

Initially, the couple said, some people who knew Marc were outraged and wanted revenge. From the beginning, however, that was never the group’s intent.

“Then all you have is another family going through the same thing,” Clark Squires said. “Marc was a peacemaker. He stopped people from going into gangs and talked a few out of committing suicide or taking drugs.”

The couple said Marc’s death has forced them to change family traditions. For Christmas, they will rent a condo at Mammoth Mountain with their other two children instead of celebrating the holiday at home.

“We have to bring new memories in,” said Lin Squires, “because life isn’t the same any more. We had no control over what happened, but you can have control over how you react to it.”

She said MARC hopes to find a new place of recreation for adolescents so they will be deterred from joining gangs.

“There’s no place for our young people,” she said. “How often can you bowl? How often can you see a movie? What else is there to do?”

Since June, MARC has raised about $8,500 in private donations. Major fund-raisers are being planned.

“A dent in the crime problem isn’t enough,” Lin Squires said. “We’ve got to Grand Canyon it.”

Where and When What: MARC meeting at Northridge United Methodist Church Fellowship Hall, 9650 Reseda Blvd., Northridge. When: 7:30 p.m. Monday. Call: (818) 368-1112.