Canoga Park : Program Aims to Curb Teen Pregnancy

Seeking to prevent teenage pregnancies and the cycle of poverty that often results, a nonprofit organization has launched a program to offer at-risk girls a way out.

The program, “Las Amigas,” will be based at Lanark Park in Canoga Park and be run by the nonprofit organization Keep Youth Doing Something, or KYDS.

Las Amigas will provide education and counseling to about 15 girls, focusing primarily on pregnancy prevention, said Sandy Kievman, executive director of KYDS. The program is due to begin in May.

Women are being recruited to serve as role models and show the girls the many career options open to them, Kievman said. The girls also will be encouraged to volunteer for community service projects, she said.

The youngsters will also receive art lessons and paint a mural that organizers said will hang at the park’s recreation center.

A $10,000 grant from Kaiser Permanente was accepted Thursday by City Councilwoman Laura Chick on behalf of Las Amigas.

The city’s Cultural Affairs Department gave KYDS $3,000 to fund Las Amigas’ art component, Kievman said.

KYDS operates other youth programs around the city in conjunction with the L.A. Department of Recreation and Parks and the Los Angeles Police Department, she said.

For information about Las Amigas call (818) 908-2029.