Center Gives Children Life Skills to Break Cycle of Poverty

Poet Langston Hughes described the climb out of poverty as a tough journey.

“Well, son, I’ll tell you: Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair. It’s had tacks in it, and splinters, and boards torn up, and places with no carpet on the floor -- bare,” his poem “Mother to Son” starts out.

Creators of a child-care program in South Los Angeles recognized working mothers’ hardships 23 years ago, when they borrowed from Hughes’ poem and named their fledgling organization Crystal Stairs.

These days, Crystal Stairs Inc. is one of the largest private, nonprofit child-care development corporations in the country. One of its programs is the SAGE Center, which since 1994 has provided before- and after-school care for children 5 to 12 living in the Nickerson Gardens housing project.

This year, the SAGE Center received a $15,000 grant from the Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign, which raises money for nonprofit groups in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties.

The funds were used at SAGE classrooms to help pay for lessons in recycling, health awareness and the government electoral process and for an ongoing peer conflict resolution program that teaches youngsters how to think things through before reacting.

“Teaching adolescents who live in a public housing project these life skills is much more valuable than perhaps supplying them a tangible object,” said Rosie Diaz, a lead development specialist with Crystal Stairs.

“The skills the children are taught at SAGE helps them to respect others, encourages them to be law-abiding citizens and gives them the foundation to help themselves break their cycle of poverty.”

Youngsters at the SAGE Center also receive instruction in science, math, computers, music and dance, along with homework assistance and dinner.

The center is one of a variety of services offered by Crystal Stairs. The group also provides a bilingual child-care referral service for parents that lists nearly 2,000 child-care providers and makes about 13,000 referrals a year.

Holly J. Mitchell, chief executive officer of Crystal Stairs, said the organization’s reach makes it a resource “whether you are a parent needing child-care referrals, a child-care provider seeking training, a person wanting to know about child care or a children’s advocate.”

About 100 children are enrolled at the SAGE Center. Another 75 are on a waiting list.

Renita Wilson, who has had three children at the center, credits the program with allowing her to attend college, where she is studying child development and working toward a teaching credential.

She was employed as a security guard at Los Angeles International Airport when her children first enrolled.

“As a working parent, you want someone reliable to pick up your children. You want to know they’re safe after school and not roaming around the neighborhood,” Wilson said.

“They get help with their homework, not just to get it done, but so they understand the schoolwork. It is a program that helps parents and children.”

HOW TO GIVE

The annual Holiday Campaign is part of the Los Angeles Times Family Fund, a fund of the McCormick Tribune Foundation, which this year will match the first $800,000 raised at 50 cents on the dollar.

Donations (checks or money orders) supporting the campaign should be sent to: L.A. Times Holiday Campaign, File 56986, Los Angeles, CA 90074-6986.

Do not send cash. Credit card donations can be made on the website: latimes.com/holiday campaign.

All donations are tax-deductible.

Contributions of $50 or more may be published in The Times unless a donor requests otherwise; acknowledgment cannot be guaranteed. For more information, call (800) LATIMES, Ext. 75771.