WESTMINSTER : ‘Fun on Wheels’ May Be Offered All Year

The “Fun on Wheels” van supplied by the city last summer to entertain low-income children was a big hit. And now the city hopes to expand the program, which gives youngsters an alternative to watching TV or joining gangs, into a year-round endeavor.

Through a grant from the city, the Community Services and Recreation Department had supplied the mobile recreation van with soccer balls, baseballs, books, games, crafts and educational materials.

The van was leased to the city by Anaheim, and Charlene Lent, superintendent of Community Services and Recreation, said Westminster hopes to buy its own van this year. Lent said the city hopes to send the van to additional neighborhoods this year. Eventually, when there are sufficient funds, the city will run the van program throughout the year, she said.

“Our goal is to go into the community year-round, hitting all areas of the community,” she said.

This past summer, the van visited two low-income, mostly minority neighborhoods, both of which were picked for the service because of gangs and related problems.

“The response was overwhelming,” Lent said. The van, which visited the neighborhoods three days a week, brought with it a gang prevention education specialist and regular appearances by a police officer called “Officer Friendly.”

“We wanted kids to see that the police are a positive influence, not just negative,” she said.

Because many of the youngsters spoke little or no English, those hired as recreation leaders with the van were trilingual.

Heather-Hahn Stenseng, 23, an aide at Ocean View High School in Huntington Beach, had a chance to speak English, Spanish and her native Vietnamese. “It was great to see the kids smile, and rewarding to know I was doing good for the community,” she said.

Stenseng said that at the end of last summer’s program, she and other aides wrote a summary and recommendation for future programs.

About 125 children, ages 4 to 15, participated in the free program. The van alternated between the 15th Street apartments and the La Pat apartments. The program is scheduled to start again in June.