PACOIMA : Parents Work So Children at Park Can Play

Playing pickup football in Pacoima sometimes means making do. On a recent afternoon, the field was a half-acre lot covered in asphalt.

Diving tackles were rare.

If blacktop is not the surface of choice for aspiring quarterbacks, at least cars don’t speed through the playground at Haddon Elementary School.

The games used to take place along Goleta Street and Amboy Avenue, said Josefina Munoz, and often included her three sons.

“Muy peligroso, “ she said. “Very dangerous.”

Exasperated that the nearest park is nearly two miles away, and tired of fearing the screech of brakes that would signal an accident in their streets, parents of Haddon Elementary students found a way to keep their children occupied and safe after the school bell rings. These parents organized to take shifts at the school playground where they oversee volleyball and soccer matches, and teach the children to make woven keychains and work with wood.

The group calls itself the Pacoima Village People and follows the philosophy of African tribes who teach “it takes an entire community to raise a child,” said Richard Guerrero, an organizer for the nonprofit Hope in Youth program that helped found the playground program.

Guerrero got involved several months ago upon hearing about the lack of parks in the area. He stepped in to organize a community where neighbors of 15 years still didn’t know each other, he said.

A meeting was called in late August to address the parks issue. When none of the invited local politicians showed up, the parents decided to take matters into their own hands. They went to Haddon principal Loraine Mason to propose that the playground be used for expanded after-school activities.

The playground was already open and supervised until 6:30 p.m. each weekday, but the coach provided by the city had his hands full just keeping an eye on the 30 or so children who played there.

“One person wasn’t enough,” Mason said. She quickly gave her approval for parents to help supervise the playground.

Now the volunteer adults plan arts and crafts projects and watch over many of the younger children, who seldom went to the lot before because of the lack of activities for them.

The coach, Brian Burke, welcomed the help he got from the parents.

“With the parents, it allows me to run activities like hockey, football, soccer,” Burke said.

The crowd on this afternoon consisted of more than 50 children, nearly double the number who used to show up at the playground. And more are coming all the time, said Guerrero.

The place is no Dodger Stadium, parents acknowledged--there’s not a blade of grass in sight. And turning a patch of asphalt into a football field is not going to unite an entire community. But it’s a start.

“This is step one,” said Guerrero. “Step two is we’re going to approach local politicians and see if we can get a (real) park.”