Gang Prevention Effort Loses County Funding

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday refused to grant more funds to the anti-gang organization Hope in Youth, a decision that the group said will force it to close 22 centers and lay off 86 employees.

“I don’t think there’s a member on the board who wouldn’t like to help,” Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said at Tuesday’s board’s meeting. “But the reality is the county is broke.”

The motion to not fund Hope in Youth passed 4 to 0. Supervisor Gloria Molina, a key supporter of the group when it first received county funding last year, abstained.

Hope in Youth supporters had argued that despite the county’s financial crisis the group deserved a second year of funding because of the work it does with children and their families in the county’s poorest and most dangerous neighborhoods.

“I understand that you have tough choices, but Hope in Youth works. That’s the most important thing,” said the Rev. E. Lynn Brown, one of the group’s leaders. “This program gets down to the nitty-gritty.”

The board turned down both the group’s request for $1.9 million for one year’s funding, as well as its appeal for $350,000 to allow the organization to operate on an interim basis while it attempts to secure state or federal support.

The board’s decision also may jeopardize the funding Hope in Youth receives from the city of Los Angeles, which is tied to the amount it gets from the county.