PACOIMA : HMO Helps Child Center Stay Afloat

Just two months ago, a child-care center serving one of the San Fernando Valley’s largest public housing projects seemed doomed to become another victim of tough economic times. But a regional health-care organization has given the program a much-needed $25,000 boost that could help it stay afloat.

Kaiser Permanente Medical Center of Panorama City chose the Pacoima Youth Development School-Age Program to receive its annual $25,000 grant for community organizations after officials read about the center’s struggles, said Dr. David Potyk, the center’s associate medical director.

“The Kaiser Permanente grant literally helped us keep our doors open,” said Catherine Speer, a board member of the nonprofit Youth Development Corp., which runs the center based at Pacoima Elementary School. “That’s not an overstatement.”

Children of working parents in and around the San Fernando Gardens housing project can attend the center, which provides after-school activities ranging from science projects to arts and crafts, according to Speer. There are 54 children from 5 to 13 years old currently enrolled, she said.

The nonprofit corporation started the program last July as a demonstration project, courtesy of a $100,000 grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, Speer said. It stretched the money to last into the fall, but faced almost certain closure if it could not come up with almost $120,000 for this year, she said. The program has a long way to go, but the grant will help because such support often acts as an endorsement to help draw other donors, Speer said. “We’re not out of the woods.”

Amid recent reports of serial child molesters--including one who preyed on youngsters within a half-mile of the center--the need for a safe place for young children has taken on a greater urgency for working parents, Speer said. In areas like Pacoima, some younger children can wait for hours after classes let out for an adult or older sibling to take them home, Speer said. “It’s not the parents’ fault--they’re working,” she said.

Even with the magnitude of the Pacoima program’s troubles, it was hard to choose this year’s grant winner from a growing pool of applicants, Potyk said.

“In these times, especially when a lot of programs got their funding cut, people are desperate for money,” Potyk said. “The hardest part is making the choice.”