Inner-City Effort Aids Fire Victims : Volunteers: Partly in gratitude to those who helped them after the riots, Central L.A. residents donate food, clothing and cleanup muscle.

From South-Central to Downtown and throughout Central Los Angeles, many area residents and organizations are offering relief to those affected by the devastating firestorms that have swept the Southland.

About 100 students from the United Minority Contractors Trade School in South-Central volunteered last week to help Malibu residents find their possessions and clean up their city.

“People were nice enough to come to the inner city to help us (after last year’s riots), so we want to help them dig out their belongings,” said student Don Williams, 22, of South-Central.

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Also in South-Central, state Sen. Diane Watson’s office organized a relief program with the First African Methodist Episcopal Church and the Red Cross. First Inner-City Relief Effort (FIRE) is working with the three groups to help provide money, clothing and bedding to those affected by the fires.

Watson also said she saw the effort as an opportunity to help some of the people who helped the residents of South-Central after the riots.

“During last year’s uprising, so many people all over the state helped us,” Watson said. “With so many people affected by the fires, I felt we had to say, ‘Thank you.’ We assume that some of the people that helped us are now in need.”

First AME Church on South Harvard Boulevard is serving as a collection center for the relief effort. Donations of food and clothing are handed over to the Red Cross, which distributes them. A truckload of goods had been collected by last Wednesday.

“The place of the church is to be giving out,” said the Rev. Leonard Jackson, associate minister of First AME. “I wish we could do more.”

Danny Bakewell’s Brotherhood Crusade, which had originally been contributing to the FIRE effort, decided to start its own counseling, food and clothing drive last Wednesday, enlisting area organizations.

“Those families are just devastated,” said Clarence Morris of the Genesis Food Distribution Network in South-Central, which is providing turkeys, clothing and blankets to fire victims and is one of the groups recruited by the Brotherhood Crusade. “It’s really touched the Christian community.”

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Morris’ organization is sending the relief items to the Jackie Robinson Center in Pasadena, which is serving as a Red Cross shelter. The center prepares the turkeys and passes out clothing to families in need.

The Brotherhood Crusade also recruited counselors for a hot line to help those suffering from fire-related trauma. The hot line number is (213) 231-2171.

Trained volunteers from throughout the Central Los Angeles area also offered their special skills to those in need.

Myrtis Porter, 68, of Downtown was trained by the Red Cross to comfort children in disaster situations. She volunteered to help in Malibu after the fires last week.

“After the damage is done, children need assistance,” said Porter, who has been a volunteer for 14 years, helping out after fires, mudslides and other disasters. “We take care of the children while the parents are getting things straightened out.”

Letting children voice their opinions is important, Porter said, adding that they often feel helpless and useless in disaster situations.

Jerome Phiery, 30, of the Red Cross in East L.A. has been working with families displaced by the Orange County fires.

“It doesn’t make any difference what your dollar worth was before the fire,” said Phiery, who has been a Red Cross volunteer since he was 14. “You still . . . need help. I like doing that.”