PACOIMA : Quake Leaves Center With New Concerns

Family crises don’t take a break because of an earthquake. If anything, the stress of the disaster can make them worse.

So when the Jan. 17 Northridge temblor badly damaged the Pacoima headquarters of El Nido Family Centers, counselors took to their cars and used cellular phones in an attempt to stay in touch with more than 400 new parents, troubled youth, pregnant teen-agers and crisis-ridden families.

As many as 50 clients, however, simply dropped out of touch, according to Patricia Cervantes, adolescent and family life coordinator for El Nido, which has served Los Angeles families since 1925.

“We still have, unfortunately, some clients who are completely lost, and we don’t know where they are,” she said. The Pacoima office has relocated to donated space in the United Way building at 6851 Lennox St. in Van Nuys, but hopes to be able to move back to its repaired building within a few weeks, according to Fritzie Davis, El Nido’s executive director.

Situated at Van Nuys Boulevard and Dronfield Avenue for more than five years, El Nido’s Pacoima office has been a prominent landmark for low-income families, many of them recent immigrants trying to cope with harsh economic times.

“It’s gotten a little more hectic to get here,” Cervantes said. “I know for some, they’re reluctant to come here because the building is not familiar.”

Landlord Joseph Kashani said Wednesday he expects to complete most repairs to the Pacoima building by week’s end, but is unsure when he will obtain final inspections and approvals from city officials. Davis said she believes El Nido will be able to move back in two weeks to a month.

El Nido has a tape-recorded message on its Pacoima telephone line, directing clients to the Van Nuys site or to other areas where some programs have been relocated--such as the Pacoima Community Youth Culture Center at Glenoaks and Van Nuys boulevards, and the Vaughn Family Center on Vaughn Street, Cervantes said.