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Larchmont Chronicle
MAY 2020
SECTION ONE
Help and need are in abundance at Karsh Center Home order in mid-March, the Center staff packed 600 bags of food and distributed them with smiles, all from a safe, six-foot distance. Guirguis was joined by a lean staff, few volunteers and LAPD Olympic Division officers, who packed a squad car with surplus bags they distributed to more neighbors in need. Since mid-March, and by April 20, the center had served more than 2,498 bags of food to families and individuals (representing over 14,988 meals) and distributed more than 18,000 individual diapers and 150 hygiene kits. They do it with a Herculean amount of support from their 30 collaborators, plus years of experience and support from The Karsh Center’s sponsor and neighbor, Wilshire Boulevard Temple (WBT).
VOLUNTEERS at Korean Youth and Community Center deliver much-needed food and smiles to seniors. Photo by Darwin D. Smith
“As difficult as this is, there are heartwarming stories every day, from volunteers and in-kind donors stepping up, to working with our dedicated collaborators that enable us to leverage our supplies and reach, to families and individuals who have shared beautiful messages of thanks, to interfaith efforts coming together, and more,” said Dena Bloom, president of the Karsh Board of Trustees and a Windsor Square resident. The Center opened in its new and expanded premises in 2016. Located in the densest part of the city, it is part of the Erika J. Glazer Family Campus at WBT, a stalwart in the community since the temple opened its doors in 1929. Paycheck to paycheck Many area residents were already living paycheck to paycheck when the city ordered them to stay home and stores were shuttered and many services stopped. To respond to the financial and public health crisis, many of the Center’s services — legal aid, English-as-asecond-language courses and counseling — moved online. The Center’s dental and vision clinics pared down to essential surgeries. Parenting classes for families with children under the age of five continue online. But there are technical challenges. Many of the thousands of children that live near the Karsh Center are enrolled in the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has moved to online classes. “We’re very concerned about what children are learning or not learning,” Guirguis said. Many area residents do not have wifi to connect to the internet and are about to lose their cell phone services. Choosing among food, clothes or wifi or a cellphone: “These are decisions families are going to be making in the next few weeks or months,” Guirguis said. Hope-Net food pantry The Karsh Center site serves as one of HopeNet’s 13 local food pantries. Supplies
are offered to residents each Sunday, from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Appointments also can be made to come in during the week to pick up groceries, toiletries and diapers. HopeNet, which holds its annual Taste of Larchmont at restaurants and take-outs along Larchmont Boulevard
each August, is among the Center’s many collaborators. Others include the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Koreatown Youth + Community Center and Baby2Baby. Since COVID-19, the Center has served residents from 50 Zip Codes. “With other social service collaborators, we are working together to provide home delivery to seniors, disabled people and others that are housebound,” Bloom said. Each bag of groceries includes canned vegetables, fruits and beans, rice, cereal and two meats. Some are tailor made: USC students termedout of foster care receive care packages with pasta, tuna, trail mix, popcorn and other foods plus toiletries. Leaders of the Ready to Succeed LA program at USC write on the Karsh website: (Please turn to page 22)
325 N. Larchmont Boulevard, #158 Los Angeles, California 90004 www.windsorsquare.org 157 N. Larchmont Boulevard
Silver Linings in COVID-19 Cloud In this stressful time of social distancing, forced home schooling, artificial toilet paper shortages and other more difficult issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Windsor Square Association wants to express our gratitude to the dedicated people who are keeping the neighborhood running, often at their own personal risk. Please take the time to smile and personally thank your mail carriers, delivery people, grocery store clerks, police and fire personnel, doctors, nurses and other essential workers when you see them. We’re also grateful for hard-working educators who have had to create on-line learning programs on short notice. Give your thanks and support, as well, to the local restaurants that are providing wonderful take-out meals. There are some silver linings coming out of the stay-athome order: The gorgeous spring air is fresher than usual; the city seems quieter and cleaner; and the neighborhood streets are filled with friendly, masked walkers, joggers and cyclists — all at least six feet apart, of course.
Playground Pilot Construction Postponed Councilmember David Ryu’s April 4 announcement that he has decided to postpone construction of the Larchmont Village playground pilot program makes sense. Even though approximately 100 people participated in the March 14 teleconference town hall, it was not the same as a public meeting. An open gathering (when that’s again possible) might help for stating the facts again: The playground will not affect the operation of the Sunday Farmers’ Market; and this small pilot project, and ultimately a full Village Green, if feasible, will improve the vibrancy of the Larchmont shopping district. That is why the neighborhood associations and the merchants’ association proposed the playground in the first place. We hope that full information, including that the Sunday market is not now, nor ever has been, threatened by the playground, will allow neighbors to understand the benefits that the project will bring. The Windsor Square Association, an all-volunteer group of residents from 1100 households between Beverly and Wilshire and Van Ness and Arden, works to preserve and enhance our beautiful neighborhood. Join with us! Drop us a line at 325 N. Larchmont Blvd., #158, Los Angeles, CA 90004, or visit our website at windsorsquare.org. ADV.
©LC0520
By Suzan Filipek After a recent early-morning fire at Alexandria House, several moms and their children were moved to a nearby motel. They needed supplies and food fast. The transitional home for women and children reached out to a trusted friend, Karsh Family Social Services Center. “Within 45 minutes, we sent baby bags, diapers, toothbrushes and bags of food,” recalled Lila Guirguis, executive director of the Karsh Center at 3750 W. Sixth Street. The Center, which offers a weekly food pantry and a host of social services, is no stranger to emergencies. But no one saw coming the surge in requests that have deluged the facility since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The first week, after Mayor Eric Garcetti gave the Safer at