New Digs in the Making : $3-Million Project Will Expand Services of Ocean Park Community Center
Workers have begun refurbishing the Ocean Park Community Center to make it a combination shelter for the homeless and counseling center for battered women.
A ceremony Wednesday marked the end of a three-year drive that raised $3 million for construction of a 16,000-square-foot center on 16th Street in Santa Monica through private donations and grants from the federal and city governments, said community center spokeswoman Yumiko Carr.
For the record:
12:00 a.m. Aug. 18, 1994 For the Record
Los Angeles Times Thursday August 18, 1994 Home Edition Westside Part J Page 3 Zones Desk 2 inches; 71 words Type of Material: Correction
Community center--An article in Thursday’s Westside section contained incorrect information on the Ocean Park Community Center in Santa Monica. A renovation project now under way will allow the center to house 55 homeless people, up from the current 35, and expand its counseling programs and support groups for battered women. The center has raised $2.7 million for the work through government grants and private donations and is trying to raise an additional $1.3 million needed to complete the project.
“The center enables people to get back on their feet, and it provides a broad scope of services to the homeless and the needy,” said Don Burkhimer, chairman of the fund-raising committee and a Sony Corp. senior vice president.
He said the committee hopes to raise an additional $2 million to be used for services.
The project should be completed within a year.
In the meantime, the counseling center for battered women and their children will remain on Hill Street in Santa Monica, and the homeless shelter, which offers housing, job placement, training and other services for up to 55 homeless people, will continue in temporary trailers on 16th Street.
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