Funding in Place for Youth, Family Center

A city-funded Youth and Family Center, expected to open at the Guadalupe Center in February, will provide help to local families and teens, as well as organizations that serve young people from low-income families.

The final review of the $134,000 expenditure was conducted Monday by the Community and Economic Development Committee. The City Council approved the funding in December.

The center, to be housed in two bungalows on the Catholic Charities grounds, will share space with the Los Angeles Police Department, said Gloria Stevenson Clark, director of the city’s Human Services and Neighborhood Development Division.

The Youth and Family Center, the eighth in the city, replaces a similar city-sponsored service center that emphasized helping families recover from the effects of the Northridge earthquake. That center closed in March.

“This is a way to get it back into place and get services available and accessible to families in the community, but with a different goal,” Clark said Monday.

The center is expected to provide young people with referrals for summer jobs, recreational activities, training and technical assistance.

Additionally, the center will offer workshops and forums to help community-based organizations to better provide their services, including lessons on writing grants and utilizing resources.

The city grant provides funds to pay two employees for one year to work with families in the surrounding neighborhood.

The idea for the center was suggested at a community meeting called to discuss ways to spend the funds Canoga Park received as a Targeted Neighborhood Initiative community, but none of those funds will be needed for this center, Clark said.