CANOGA PARK : Community Center Comes Under Fire

One of the Valley’s oldest community centers geared to a Latino clientele has come under fire by a fledgling community group that says its programs are not meeting the needs of the community.

The group, called Parents of Canoga Park, has met with officials to discuss its claim that Catholic Charities is not providing enough programs for youth at the Guadalupe Center, a cluster of aging buildings at 21600 Hart St.

Over the years, the center, which is owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Los Angeles, has seen bursts of activity followed by dormant periods. In recent years, shrinking finances and administrative changes have reduced the number of programs offered there, said Anastasia Rose, administrative assistant to the Catholic Charities regional director Moeed Khan, who runs the center part time.

Parents of Canoga Park wants Catholic Charities to give their group the status of advisory committee. The group also asked Catholic Charities to open the swimming pool at the center, which has been closed for many years, and to add more youth programs, said Joseph Carlin, an outreach worker for the San Fernando Valley Partnership and grandson of Lupe Carlin, who heads Parents of Canoga Park.

“There is a lot of drug-related crimes and violence taking place in the area. This (the center) has a direct influence on what’s going on,” Carlin said.

About 20 members of Parents of Canoga Park met with Khan last week to discuss their concerns.

Renovating the swimming pool would cost at least $80,000--more money than the center can afford, said Rose. The center now has a soup kitchen, a program to help keep elderly people living in their homes, a youth program run by the Los Angeles Police Department and a food assistance program for the poor, said Khan.

Khan said the lack of additional activities is due to budget cuts and a recent change in leadership at Catholic Charities which put some projects on hold. Susan Weight, assistant to the executive director of Catholic Charities, said the agency lost 7% of its funding this year due to the poor economy.