After-School Center Takes Some of Worry Out of Work

Working parents of Meiners Oaks in Ventura County have had one less worry the last 20 years.

Since the Meiners Oaks Youth Program was launched in 1981 in the community’s elementary school, children have had a convenient and safe place to do their homework, play and just unwind, all with adult supervision.

The drop-in center, aimed at latchkey kids from low-income families or single-parent households, has about 75 children on the roster, but no one is turned away, said Marlene Spencer, executive director of HELP of Ojai, which operates the program..

“It’s there so the kids are not sent home alone,” she said.

And if parents cannot pay the suggested fee, they are welcome to contribute in some other way.

“In the past, we had a parent make us a banner” in lieu of fees, Spencer said.

Shawna Angelini, formerly a single mom, now married to a Vons employee who is on strike, pays what she can so her two daughters, ages 11 and 8, can go to the center three or four times a week .

“I donate what I can,” said Angelini. “Unfortunately right now, that’s not a whole lot. But at times like this, if you make even a small donation, it’s something.”

Her daughters stay at the center until about 3:30 p.m. three or four days a week, she said.

“They get to play; they do their homework, they have a cart with coloring books and crayons, and it’s all right there at the school.”

Chelbi Kelley has worked at the center for more than three years and sees the difference it makes.

“We have single parents that live in low-income housing,” said Kelley, who coordinates the program. “They take turns picking up each other’s kids. It lets them work. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to work and pay for child care.”

The center asks parents to pay at least $1 per hour per child, “but that doesn’t always happen,” Kelley said. There are some people who “just can’t,” she said.

The program, which employs three part-time workers, is open from 2 to 5 p.m.

It’s not structured, Spencer said, because the kids have been in school all day and probably need some time to relax.

“There’s the opportunity for games, for homework help, for movies if it’s raining,” she said.

This year, the program received $6,000 from the Los Angeles Times Holiday Campaign, which raises money for nonprofit agencies in Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

HELP of Ojai has operated in the Ojai Valley since 1968, Spencer said.

Its programs include Meals on Wheels, a senior center, an emergency assistance fund and a transportation project.

Spencer estimates that HELP of Ojai serves about 9,000 residents, out of a population of about 25,000 in the Ojai Valley.

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