Young vs. old in funding battle

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The needs of the old and those of the young are

pitted against each other in a scramble for federal money the city

receives to help low-income families.

The choice is between funding programs meant to rescue at-risk children

or providing more transportation for the elderly who are too sick and

frail to get around on their own.

Standing in the cross-fire is a group of residents led by Jeff Lebow. He

chairs an advisory board that will make a recommendation to the City

Council on how Community Development Block Grant money should be spent.

“It’s a tough call,” Lebow said.

Among the board’s preliminary decisions was a plan to give $10,000 to the

senior transportation service. But city staff is arguing that $10,000

should be spent instead on a dance class and a hiking trip to Yosemite

for children living in Oak View, the city’s poorest neighborhood.

The money at stake is just part of $287,400 in federal funds that the

board is divvying up for social services in the city, said Luann Brunson,

a senior city administrative analyst. The money is meant to help families

who meet the federal criteria for making low to moderate annual incomes,

which for a family of three is between $45,200 and $75,000.

Funding everything is not possible. The city has received $483,373 in

requests from local groups, Brunson said.

The city and the committee will try to settle their differences at a

public meeting tonight at City Hall.

If the Oak View Community Center isn’t awarded the grant, its programs

will “more than likely” have to be cut, said Colleen Gelfer, the center’s

director.

Getting at-risk youth involved in the arts and outdoor recreation

improves their self-esteem and social skills, which helps reduce teen

pregnancy and juvenile delinquency, according to an April 13 memo from

Ron Hagan, the city’s community services director.

The dance class teaches girls ages 8 to 13 to groove to jazz and hip-hop,

among other styles. The 60 girls now enrolled are taught one hour per

week, in addition to putting on stage performances with costumes, Gelfer

said.

“Happy” is how 8-year-old participant Cindy Rincon said she feels when

she dances in class.

“When I grow up, I want to be a ballet woman,” she said.

The annual summer trip to Yosemite is designed for eight high school

students to trek 20 miles from Glacier Point to Half Dome. It is a

“life-changing” experience for many participants who are in danger of

dropping out of the school, Hagan wrote.

The outdoor adventure was tough for Enrique Najera, 20, who took the trip

two years ago.

“You realize that the wilderness gives out a lot of challenges, and

you’ve got to be ready for them,” he said.

Overcoming those challenges taught Najera how to handle life’s other

tests. Najera said he is the first person in his family to graduate from

high school.

“If I can hike 20 miles, I can do homework no problem,” Najera said.

But there are other, less expensive, trips the center can afford to do,

Lebow said.

“If they didn’t go to Yosemite, maybe they can go to the beach instead,”

he said.

Rather than spending the money on children’s recreation, the more

“critical” need is senior transportation, Lebow said.

The Council on Aging, a nonprofit volunteer organization that runs the

senior transportation program, leases vans to take the elderly to their

doctor appointments and grocery stores, member Pat Davis said.

The Council on Aging could collect $10,000 as part of its ongoing

fund-raising efforts, city staff has said.

But Davis isn’t sure how much money can be raised.

Even if the money can be found elsewhere, the council needs more to

expand the program, which already makes 1,000 trips a month on behalf of

the city’s ever-increasing senior population, she said.

Bella Beckman, 78, said she needs a ride at least once a week. If she

didn’t have the shuttle, Beckman said she would have to impose on friends

or take public transportation, such as the bus, which would be difficult

because of her bad back and arthritis.

“I’d be in a lot of trouble,” Beckman said.

The advisory board is expected to complete its recommendations at 7 p.m.

today in Room B-8 at City Hall, 2000 Main St. The City Council is

scheduled to vote on the recommendations in June.

QUESTION

Do you think the grant money should support dance classes and a hiking

trip for children from Oak View, or should the money be used to fund

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