A Role for Volunteers . . .

Thanksgiving and Christmas are flush times for the San Fernando Valley’s nonprofit organizations. Food pantries are full. Homeless shelters and social service agencies sometimes have trouble finding room to stack all the toys and clothes pouring in.

Poverty and hunger don’t disappear the rest of the year, although donations and volunteer efforts often do.

Much of the Valley is enjoying economic boom times. But staff members and volunteers at MEND, a Pacoima-based organization serving needy families, see conditions that would stun people living in wealthier areas: a family of five living in a trailer in a backyard, for example, or nine people sharing a home, together bringing in an income of $950 and paying $800 in rent.

MEND stands for Meeting Each Need with Dignity, and the organization does just that--assists with food, medical care, English lessons, computer training--while treating recipients with respect. For those who may think such services draw “outsiders” or encourage dependency, MEND executive director Marianne Haver Hill points to a northeast Valley success story, 19-year-old Erika Ibanez, her parents, brother and sisters. With the help of MEND and through their own efforts, the Ibanez family worked their way out of poverty. It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t quick.

Erika came to this country from Mexico when she was 6, a year after her parents arrived. Her father, Juan, worked as a mechanic, but he hurt his back and couldn’t work for two years. So her mother, Maria Elena, sold crocheted handiwork from home, along with home interior decorations.

Home at that time was a rented garage, which is not uncommon in the northeast Valley. The living quarters were small but immaculately kept. Later, the family moved into a house shared with another family, an arrangement that made the rent affordable but the living conditions less than ideal.

The Ibanez family faced other hardships. At a party to celebrate Erika’s first communion and her younger sister’s baptism, someone stole money from guests’ purses. They took the first communion and baptism gifts. They even took her mother’s crochet needles.

Through hard work, the family fought their way back from each setback. Erika and her brother and sisters picked up aluminum cans in parks and sold them to recyclers. Juan Ibanez recovered and got a job building fences. Two years ago he became a citizen. Today he works at a filling station.

During the toughest times, MEND helped the family with food and dental care. Now Erika volunteers there. She graduated in June with a 3.5 grade-point average, the first in her family to receive a high school diploma.

On July 22--a date recounted with no small amount of pride--the family moved into a home of its own in San Fernando.

The Ibanez family has achieved the American dream. It took a lot of work and a little help--and they, in turn, have helped others, a lesson for Valley residents to take to heart. And not just come Christmas.

To Take Action: Valley organizations providing services for the poor include MEND, 13460 Van Nuys Blvd., Pacoima, 91331, (818) 897-2443; The Boys & Girls Club of Burbank, 2244 N. Buena Vista St., Burbank 91504, (818) 842-9333; Loaves and Fishes, 14640 Keswick St., Van Nuys 91405, (818) 997-0943. L.A. Family Housing Corp., 7843 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood, 91605, (818) 982-4091; the San Fernando Valley Interfaith Council, 10824 Topanga Canyon Blvd., Chatsworth 91311, (818) 718-6460.