Central Los Angeles : High School Is Focus of 1st ‘Adopt-a-Wall’ Program
Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights may soon be graffiti-free.
Long plagued by gang and tagger spray-paint, the high school now is the focus of the first “Adopt-a-Wall” program organized by Building Up L.A. An umbrella group of 60 community organizations is administering the program, in which groups of students are assigned a wall or building to keep free of graffiti.
Formed after the 1992 riots, Building Up L.A. is part of President Clinton’s AmeriCorps, styled as a domestic Peace Corps. About 150 Building Up L.A. members work for minimum wage and after a year of service receive $5,000 to be used to pay back school loans. The graffiti removal program is modeled after the “Adopt a Highway” project.
Building Up L.A. is the largest AmeriCorps program in the state, servicing neighborhoods in Watts, Hollywood, East Los Angeles, Northeast Los Angeles, South-Central, Pico Union, Koreatown and Pacoima.
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