PANORAMA CITY : Recreation Programs Offered to Families

A new program providing recreational opportunities and social services for parents and their children who live in a troubled Blythe Street neighborhood in Panorama City was announced Friday.

To be held at the Mid Valley YMCA in Van Nuys, the new Blythe Street Community Services Outreach program will provide karate, basketball, soccer and floor hockey for children, health and employment counseling for teen-agers, parenting classes, and family nights and weekend camp-outs.

All services will be free to families. Transportation will also be provided.

Los Angeles City Councilman Ernani Bernardi, who helped find $15,000 for the project, said he hopes that the program will provide an alternative to gangs for youths who have little or no money for recreational activities.

“You have kids out there standing on Van Nuys Boulevard trying to entice people to give them a few dollars for recreational programs,” Bernardi said. “Maybe this finally will be the start of something that should have been done a long time ago.”

Sue Benson, senior program director at the YMCA, said the facility began the karate program last month, but there was a need for more funding and programs.

The new programs, which could serve more than 100 families, are still in the planning stages, but should begin within a month, Benson said.