BOY SCOUTS GET BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF HOMELESS BY SERVING MEALS AT SHELTER.

Byline: Teresa Jimenez Daily News Staff Writer

One of the homeless people that members of Boy Scout Troop 753 served lasagna and pie to this week knew the Scout oath by heart.

He told the boys stories about activities he would go to when he was a boy.

It was something Brian Baumgardner, 14, a student at Los Cerritos Middle School, hadn't expected to hear from a homeless person.

And he hadn't expected to find mostly regular people among the 110 or so who gathered Tuesday night at the Oxnard Armory for a meal and a bed.

``One of them I really liked talking to. He was talking about the L.A. riots,'' Baumgardner said. ``I used to think that a lot of them just didn't care. Now I know that some of them care about things going on - like the riots.''

The armory is open every night from mid-December to mid-March, and on cold or rainy nights before and after those months, so organizers are used to receiving help from volunteers. In fact, they count on it.

Jim Carpenter, shelter coordinator and staff member of the nonprofit Project Understanding, said the armory shelter works because of the help received from loyal volunteers and groups such as the Boy Scouts.

``We've had very good participation from community groups and community families,'' Carpenter said. ``We have a minimal staff, so we rely heavily on volunteers.''

Carpenter prepared the volunteer schedule each season by late October or early November, and Boy Scout troop activity coordinators had asked to be included in the schedule. Though the Scouts had served meals at the armory before, it was the first time they did the cooking and presenting.

``The boys were just delighted. It really makes me want to cry,'' said Rose Bond, whose son is a member of the troop and whose husband serves as assistant scoutmaster. ``I think sometimes people think, `Newbury Park - Oh, just rich, spoiled boys.' But the boys got to see the poor here. They got to sit and talk with them and get to know them.''

The troop prepared 24 lasagna trays, 23 pies, 30 loaves of garlic bread and huge batches of salad. Though the Scouts were doing a favor for the homeless, they certainly took their own rewards home with them, said Jason Bond, 14, a freshman at Newbury Park High School.

``We organized the whole thing. It really made you feel good afterward,'' said Jason Bond, who said he prepared a lasagna just by following the directions on the package. ``It was great, talking to them, finding out who they are. It was weird seeing whole families.''

One family came to the armory because they couldn't afford food, Jason Bond said. The man told him that he had lost his job and had been struggling to pay the rent. The armory gave the family a reliable meal.

``A lot of times when you see homeless people, they're on the side of the road with their grocery carts,'' Jason Bond said. ``But a lot of homeless people were like regular people - you and me. It really changes how you think about these people.''