Central Los Angeles : Safehouse May Close for Lack of Funds

A South-Central Los Angeles safehouse for youngsters is in danger of closing, according to Debrah Constance, the director and founder of the program.

For more than two years, A Place Called Home, located in the basement of a church on East Adams Boulevard, has provided hundreds of South-Central youths with a place to study, work out, receive career counseling and participate in gang prevention programs.

The safehouse is accredited by the Los Angeles Unified School District as an independent-study site for youngsters who have dropped out of school, Constance said.

“We are on our last month’s funding,” Constance said. “We have enough to get through the middle of November.”

A Place Called Home is supported through grants from private institutions and families, Constance said, in addition to free classes offered by professionals.

Every afternoon, youngsters, many of them gang members and former gang members, gather at the safehouse for activities that range from “power yoga” to model car building, Constance said.

Counselors at A Place Called Home also help youngsters pursue their goals in careers and higher education, as well as offer emotional support for teen-agers who might be victims of abuse, Constance said.

The safehouse even hosts a Gangsters Anonymous meeting, modeled after the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program, to get youths to quit gangs.

“That’s what I love the most,” Constance said. “Gang intervention and gang prevention . . . and not only do they talk about gang activities, they also open up about other issues.” . . .