Coalition Wins Grant for Anti-Gang Project

A coalition of community groups that was denied a grant from the city’s L.A. Bridges anti-gang program earlier this year will receive the funds after all.

On Monday, the City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee recommended that the Maclay consortium be awarded a grant for $680,000 to pay for after-school activities, family projects and counseling and mentoring programs at Maclay and Pacoima middle schools.

“We spent the last weeks working day and night to write a proposal that would meet the specifications of the L.A. Bridges program,” said Anne Kelly, president and chief executive officer of New Directions for Youth, the lead agency in the coalition. “We tried to be much clearer about what we wanted to do, and it worked.”

In May, the Maclay consortium learned that its initial proposal failed to receive enough points in the review process to qualify for an L.A. Bridges grant. The consortium received 58 points out of a possible 100. The minimum needed to qualify was 70.

The coalition’s rejection led to an emotional rally June 23 at a meeting of the council’s ad hoc committee on gangs and juvenile justice. More than 150 community members, including educators, social workers, clergy, police officials and about two dozen gang members attended the meeting to protest the decision.

On Monday, coalition members were elated to learn that their new proposal had achieved a score of 77 and their grant had been approved.

“Kids in middle school ages are at such a key stage in their lives,” Kelly said. “We believe these kinds of services are essential to put their lives in a positive direction.”

The Pacoima coalition includes New Directions for Youth, the San Fernando Valley Family Center, Hope in Youth, the LAPD’s Jeopardy program and other agencies.

The $11.2-million L.A. Bridges program was established by the council in 1996 to consolidate the city’s anti-gang efforts. Through the program, consortiums of government, nonprofit and private-sector groups submit proposals to establish programs around one of 26 LAUSD middle schools identified by the city as being in neighborhoods with the biggest gang problems.