Family Source Centers Open in South LA

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The FamilySourceCenters in South LA help residents get more direct access to government care relating to employment, healthcare and financial issues. Asim Bharwani has the story.

A bright red building on Sunset near Glendale Boulevard is where El Centro del Pueblo calls home. El Centro is just one of the 21 Los Angeles clinics that are part of Mayor Villairagosa's program. The network helps families who once had to go to different places for help with employment, medical or financial needs. Now they get it all in one place.

"This is pretty much a one stop shop," said Director Carlos Martinez.

"This is pretty much a family of service provision that the city is also involved with," he said."

El Centro has been part of the city's program since October. Families can get different kinds of help by filling out just one single form. Martinez says El Centro is becoming quite popular because it makes everything more convenient for those who need help.

"People are excited that they could actually refer to one program" he said.

Anyone in Los Angeles can come to El Centro as it does not ask for the legal status of the people it helps.

“It's not our position to ask, people walk in here for a need for service, and that's our main focus," he said.

For clinics in the South LA area, visit the city's Web site at www.lacity.org