NORTH HOLLYWOOD : Churches Hit by Quake Get Help Rebuilding

Tucked away from the bustling North Hollywood traffic in between automotive service shops and industrial storage facilities, a warehouse devoted to supplying churches affected by the Northridge earthquake with building materials and children’s clothing opened at 9 sharp Tuesday morning.

A project of World Vision US, an international Christian relief and development agency, the warehouse was already stocked with more than $20,000 worth of fiber board, $4,000 in paint and $120,000 in children’s clothing and supplies--all new.

Countless earthquake victims who were turned down for government grants and loans have sought help from churches, World Vision officials said.

But churches, too, were hard hit by the quake and themselves could not qualify for federal Small Business Administration loans.

To help them out, World Vision has set up shop in North Hollywood to supply materials to rebuild damaged chapels and to replenish supplies to be given out to the area’s needy.

“Once the quake was over, the churches became the points of light to people,” said the Rev. Obadiah Smith, World Vision’s program manager of domestic disaster response.

Smith said damage to churches in the quake was at least $200,000 and could be as high as $1.5 million.

So far, he said, World Vision has given more than $500,000 to churches for families in need of assistance, and about $300,000 to churches to repair their own buildings.

“We’ll be here until February of next year,” Smith said. “It’s not just an in-and-out operation.”

The Rev. Jose D. Carlo, pastor of St. Simon Episcopalian Church in San Fernando, took back with him between $60,000 and $80,000 worth of children’s clothing to give to San Fernando residents.

Carlo said he was impressed that all items at the warehouse were donated directly from corporations.

“The fact that it’s all new stuff really cheers people up because they know they’re not getting someone’s leftovers,” he said.

Bautista del Valle in Pacoima, a church-run facility that assists men who shave recently been released from prison, was destroyed by the quake, said the Rev. Ben Garcia.

He picked up 60 sheets of fiber board to be used to repair the kitchen.