Funding for Youth Center in Jeopardy

By Oliver Lukacs
Staff Writer

May 11 -- The City is threatening to pull its funding from the only grassroots center battling gang and youth violence unless its head, School Board member Oscar de la Torre, refrains from allegedly using his position to engage in “political activities.”

In an information item slated to become a proposal to the City Council, staff is suggesting a set of major changes to address concerns about de la Torre's dual role as head of the Pico Youth and Family Center and school board official, as well as the political nature of the non-profit center's programs.

The memo proposes tighter supervision of the center to guarantee "that City funds are not used to conduct SMMUSD duties or political activities," before the council renews a $289,000 annual grant.

In the future "City funding would not support community organizing, advocacy, youth leadership, youth development, or community events, areas where accountability issues have arisen," according to the memo.

Those activities, officials worry, could cross the legal line between community services and political activism.

"There's nothing nefarious going on, this isn't about illegal activity," said Tracy Scruggs, head of the City's Human Services Department. "A lot of this is about our ability to monitor the program," and "to clarify when (de la Torre) is acting as a school official or the center's director."

By transferring power to a local advisory board from the out-of-town non-profit currently overseeing the program, the City would get "adequate supervision" over de la Torre, according to the City memo.

But de la Torre -- who called the plan "a slap in the face" -- said the changes would gut the heart of the center's purpose.

"They're trying to neutralize us, because somehow we became a threat.” De la Torre said. “But who are we threatening and why? They're trying to make us into PAL (the Police Activities League, which caters to a younger age group), and this is not PAL.

“These kids are from the Pico Neighborhood and they have different issues,” he said. “These aren't children. We’re working with young adults."

The four-year-old center, which sprang from the community outcry triggered by a spree of deadly gang violence in the Pico Neighborhood in 1998, offers at-risk youth a second-chance at a better life through counseling, job training and education.

Operating under the slogan "promoting, peace, unity and social justice," the center also teaches the youth -- who are predominantly poor, black and Latino -- about self-empowerment and political awareness.

"They're trying to curtail any activities that smell of community organizing or advocacy," de la Torre said, "but we've never done political activity, we don't do political activity. Legally we can't do political activity, and we know that."

Scruggs said gutting the program of its leadership and youth development programs is not the City's goal, "but it would simplify things."

"We think it would be a shame to reduce the program to recreation and social services,” Scruggs said. “They're not bad things.

“But all those (other development programs) are much grayer” and "could lead towards political activity,” she added. “Advocacy by its very nature leads to political activity."

It is mystifying to de la Torre why the City would want to eliminate development programs he said are clearly spelled out in the center’s mission statement.

"This information item is really a misinformation item,” he said. “It's an offense. It's a slap in the face to the staff, to the board, and really to the community, and to a program that the community supports and the community demanded."

The memo will be discussed by the local advisory board before going to the City Council as part of its 2004-05 City Budget hearings in June.