Money Shortage Puts Crimp in Anti-Gang Effort

Thwarted in many of their early fund-raising efforts, organizers of the ambitious, church-backed Hope in Youth anti-gang program have substantially scaled back their plan of sending an army of counselors into Los Angeles’ troubled neighborhoods.

The nine religious denominations and several community groups that have proposed the project now plan, by this fall, to have 120 social workers counseling youths, parents and school officials. Original plans for the program had called for 480 workers and an annual budget of nearly $20 million.

The scaled-back, first-year budget is now projected at $5.4 million.

Hope in Youth organizers said that they were disappointed at the reduction in the program but hope that by the third year of operation, the project will grow to the proportions originally intended.

Even with the dearth of funds, Hope in Youth will be the largest anti-gang program in the county, exceeding the $3.5-million-a-year Community Youth Gang Services.

“We are disappointed but not completely downhearted,” said Father David O’Connell, co-chairman of the Hope in Youth Project. “This is as small as we can go and still really make some changes in the neighborhoods that we are trying to make a change in.”

But O’Connell said organizers are “still holding onto the idea of the larger campaign. We are fighting on a few different fronts.”

On one of those fronts, the project won a victory Tuesday when the Los Angeles City Council reaffirmed its $2.5-million pledge to Hope in Youth. Release of the money remains contingent on the County Board of Supervisors agreeing to free the $2.9 million it pledged. The board is expected to consider the matter next month.

“Now maybe we can get the county off its duff so we can get this program started,” said Councilman Joel Wachs of Tuesday’s council action.

If both the city and county follow through, Hope in Youth organizers hope to use the $5.4 million to put 120 social workers in training by Oct. 1. The workers are supposed to operate in three-person teams, with one member focusing on young people, one on parents and one on school officials.