COMMUNITY BRIEFS
By Daily Press staff
The Venice Community Housing Corporation (VCHC) has been awarded a grant to help support programs that keep kids off the streets and out of gangs.
The California Wellness Foundation (TCWF) has awarded a $150,000 grant over three years to the VCHC to support of its array of gang prevention and intervention programs.
“We are thrilled to receive assistance from The California Wellness Foundation to continue and expand our programs that are effectively serving the youth in our community that need the most help,” said Steve Clare, VCHC’s executive director.
The purpose of the grant is to support VCHC’s gang prevention and intervention programs targeting at-risk youth ages 12 to 24 who reside primarily in Venice and Mar Vista. Specifically, TCWF grant will help VCHC continue to provide job training, life skills training, counseling and support services to at least 25 youth annually, as well as to continue to provide case management and legal advocacy services to at least 35 youth annually. VCHC provides those services through a variety of programs, including: ■ L.A. Bridges — An after school program at the Mark Twain Middle School for youth, who are at high risk for gang involvement. Services include mentoring, tutoring, life and leadership skills, case management and recreational activities. ■ YouthBuild — Trains at-risk youth in the construction trades, helps develop leadership skills, supports them to obtain their high school diplomas or GEDs and connects them to jobs so they can transition into long-term employment or continue educational pursuits. ■ Community Safety Initiative — provides a liaison between law enforcement and at-risk youth and young adults in the community who are not eligible for YouthBuild. The program provides case management, legal advocacy, job training and other supportive services to help young people reach their full potential in life. ■ Teen Court — a peer-based system that provides an alternative to the juvenile system for young people accused of first-time minor offenses, while providing participants with an inside view of the legal system. Truancy prevention services are also provided through the program which is a partnership between VCHC, L.A. County Probation Dept. and Venice High School.
Created in 1992, TCWF is an independent, private foundation with a mission to improve the health of the people of California by making grants for health promotion, wellness education and disease prevention. The Foundation prioritizes eight issues for funding: Diversity in the health professions, environmental health, healthy aging, mental health, teenage pregnancy prevention, violence prevention, women’s health, and work and health.
Since its founding in 1988, VCHC has stayed true to its mission: To preserve the economic, racial and social diversity of Venice and the surrounding area by maximizing affordable housing and economic development opportunities and providing needed social services to the area’s low-income population. Over the years, VCHC has grown into an organization committed to helping its community resolve not only housing issues but also related problems in this economically marginalized neighborhood.
For more information about VCHC, contact Kristen Laskaris at (310) 399-4100 ext. 106.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 28, 2006. Read the original PDF.