AND lAwNDAle News The Weekly Newspaper of Lawndale Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - January 17, 2013 Inside Out Strong in Pioneer LeagueLawndale’s Boys Basketball Comes This Issue Calendar...............................2 Classifieds ...........................2 Food ......................................8 Hawthorne Happenings......3 Legals ...............................5-7 The Lawndale Boys Basketball team won outright – from start to finish – at El Segundo this past week in their Pioneer League opener, 60-52. Although El Segundo scratched back into the game by the third quarter, it was the dominant run of 21-8 leading off the first that set an almost unbearable pace. Seen here: Senior Sergio Blandon attempts to break through El Segundo defenders. Photo by Shelley Kemp. For more photos see page 4. People ..................................2 Family Center Provides Programs, Support for Local Youth, Families Police Reports....................3 By Cristian Vasquez it is where counseling first took place. There Lennox, but that has changed. We also have an Since 1973, the Richstone Family Center has is a Family Preservation Room where board afterschool program, which is huge, in every provided children and families in the South Bay meetings and study groups with the afterschool elementary and middle school in Hawthorne.” Sports...................................4 with programs ranging from support groups program are hosted. Then there is the main Helping families feel comfortable enough to to counseling to assistance for academically building, built in 1994, which is decorated approach the center was a challenge at first, gifted students. The once small house turned with art by the many children that the center but with the reputation the Richstone Family into several offices where board meetings and assists. On average there are 35-50 kids in the Center has earned, that has become less of counseling sessions took place. It used to serve center’s afterschool program. an issue. “Empowerment has to be a goal in less than a handful of children. Today, more “They are here as part of our afterschool all of our programs--it is in our counseling than 12,000 children and families benefit from program. These are kids from the Hawthorne programs, in our afterschool programs, in our the center’s programs and resources. School District, but it does not mean that the parenting programs and our anger management “Initially the center only helped three people children are in counseling,” Boyington said. “It programs,” Boyington said. “I think one of the Weekend into families,” Chief Operating Officer Doris “We really want to provide services for people whoordinarily couldn’t come to receive services.”since the idea of working with families didnot develop until much later, but then it gotBoyington said. “At that time, we felt it was Forecast in those days it was common for parents to just means it is an afterschool program. While most important things as an individual is thatimportant to deal with the whole family. Back drop off their children for counseling. The they are in here, we might identify kids that you choose if you are a survivor or a victim. concept of working together was new, but need help. That is not uncommon and we get We strive toward being survivors and that is thank goodness that it is really embraced now.” them the help that they need.” the goal. We want people not to come back Friday is its commitment to helping build strong families schools and other locations to provide counseling the better. Empowerment, independence andand if they do come back as a volunteer, allThe center also has an RV used to go toAmong the Richstone Family Center’s efforts Sunny by protecting children from and preventing onsite for children and families that cannot paying it forward is very important,” 75˚/51˚ of programs, staff and volunteers attempt to RV includes PCIT (Parent Children Interaction becomes a core part of the services provided byDeveloping relationships with familiesdrive out to the actual Richstone Center. Thischild abuse. Through the center’s wide array respond to the needs of children and their Training) where the counselors and parents are Richstone and the foundation to the success of families by assisting parents in strengthening connected via audio devices but separated by families. “One of my favorite families, which I knowledge, emotional control and parenting a two-way mirror. The counselor observes the met through the Adopt-a-Family Thanksgiving Saturday skills while providing a safe environment for interaction between the parent and child and program, was a domestic violence survivor,” Mostly children in the home and the community. behavior issues as those occur rather than and helping her through some of our clientTanaka said. “Over the course of several yearsadvises the parent on how to deal with certain“I started off working in the gang intervention Cloudy program which no longer exists,” Development addressing the problem after it has taken place. assistance programs, I watched her grow. She 75˚/50˚ one of the greatest things for me is that this is Wilmington (a housing facility) where staff to when I first met her when she would cryDirector Allison Tanaka said. “I think thatended up being a really strong person as opposedThe mobile unit visits five sites: Mondays it past year, we had two kids that I got to know remains all day and people approach the unit all the time and had low self-esteem. By the when I started receive scholarships to go to for counseling. Tuesdays and Thursdays they time she finished, she was such a confident college. One went out east and another is at are at the Lennox schools all day. Wednesdays person. She went back to school, she had two Sunday UC Merced. They are both the first ones in they are at Meyler in Torrance. adult daughter. She really got her life together.young daughters and was reunified with herthey are at Kit Carson in Lawndale and Fridaytheir families to go to college and some of them Sunny attribute their academic success to Richstone “We hope to be able to utilize this more It’s great to see them grow and be so much 74˚/51˚ giving them that extra push.” and get out there. We really want to provide more confident and be better off in the end.” The site of the center has now grown to have services for people who ordinarily couldn’t come Boyington added, “We want to embrace the several new facilities, including the SHARE to receive services,” Boyington said. “When I community--we rent this space. We don’t live building named after the charitable group the first came we served all of the South Bay area here. They live here and we want to make this Ladies of SHARE who helped renovate it--and and we served more people in Torrance than in the best space that we can.” •
Lawndale 01_17_13
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