City Council Approves Funds for Project Coordinator in Oakwood

The Los Angeles City Council has approved funds that will give the Oakwood Family Youth Center a project coordinator to help write grant proposals for nonprofit groups in the area.

The center will house seven community organizations that provide employment training and family services in the neighborhood. A building that formerly housed the Venice library branch is being converted into the center, which is scheduled to open by the end of summer.

In January, the City Council allocated $100,000 to hire three staffers for the center. Last week, City Councilwoman Ruth Galanter, who represents the Venice area, urged the council to convert one of the positions into a community development coordinator job to work on grant writing, technical assistance workshops and human services programming for Oakwood youths and their families. Applicants are being considered for the position now.

A recent spate of gang violence in the area highlights the need for more resources in Oakwood, said Mike Bonin, a legislative deputy with Galanter’s office.

“It will be a place that will strengthen not just opportunities, but the family unit in Oakwood,” Bonin said. “As we’ve been able to see in the recent gang violence, it’s been the families and the community groups that have come out and demanded peace--we can see the value of those groups and those strong families.”