COMMITMENT HELPS VALLEY'S `WORST BLOCK' TURN THINGS AROUND.

Byline: Luz Villarreal Daily News Staff Writer

Esmeralda Virgen is 16, the native daughter of Mexican immigrants and the oldest of five children.

Blythe Street - notorious for its poverty and crime - is her home.

Her parents struggle daily to make ends meet and keep the family together. Her mother works a machine in a factory, and her father is a mechanic. They live in a one-bedroom apartment.

The proud teen-ager, who has avoided gangs and aspires to go to college, is part of a population boom of Latino youths in the San Fernando Valley and across the nation.

A U.S. Census Bureau report issued this week chronicled the leap in Latino children in the United States since 1990. It also found that Latino children are more likely to lack health insurance, more likely to drop out of school and live in poverty than their African-American and white counterparts.

That the chips are stacked against Latino youths and their families isn't news to Esmeralda. But hope is fast emerging on Blythe Street, where residents are looking to themselves - and to youths like Esmeralda - to rise above.

The street once referred to as ``the worst block in the San Fernando Valley'' is the subject of an intense rehabilitation effort.

Through programs that include apartment renovations and after-school tutoring, residents are pulling together to build community pride, self-esteem and keep their youths from becoming crime statistics.

The work is beginning to pay off as residents see more children finishing school, serving as role models and avoiding delinquent lifestyles. Just last week, the community honored students graduating from elementary, middle and high school.

``We want another way out,'' said Esmeralda, a high school junior and member of a youth leadership group. ``We want to be examples.''

The leadership group meets each Wednesday afternoon to plan trips to amusement parks and college campuses, and to organize sports and other recreational activities.

They are attracting other youths on the street and have converted some who were headed toward a gang lifestyle.

``When I was a little kid, I wanted to be a gangster because that's all I knew,'' said Hugo Gomez, 16.

He changed his mind after attending a youth leadership meeting and saw kids like him turning themselves around.

Another program making a difference in the community is the Blythe Street Prevention Project run by the San Fernando Valley Partnership, a nonprofit substance abuse prevention agency.

After the teens finish their meeting, a dozen parents and their children gather in two rented apartment units to discuss subjects such as parenting skills, cultural pride and drug education.

It's part of a new 10-week curriculum course designed with input from residents. The parents gather in an upstairs unit while their children - mostly 9- through 12-year-olds - are grouped in an apartment below. The meetings are in English and Spanish.

After the 10 weeks, the families are tracked by the SFV Partnership.

Luz America Choy, a staff member leading a recent session on cultural pride, showed slides of Aztec and Mayan art and history to parents and reminded them to share the information with their children.

``We have to understand who we are and where we come from to accept ourselves,'' she said. ``We have to realize we're not perfect and that our children are not perfect. We have to stimulate them and give them self-esteem.''

Many of the mothers participating say their lives have improved since attending classes.

``I've learned to have more self-esteem and how to raise my children,'' said Lupe Ledezma, a mother of three. ``Before, I didn't have a lot of patience. I would get mad easily. Now I stay calm and I communicate with my kids.''

Lucia Avitia, a mother of two girls, said the program has allowed her and her family the freedom to go outdoors more.

``I wouldn't let them out for anything,'' she said. ``They would stay inside watching lots of cartoons. Now, they come home from school, have a snack and then come here to receive tutoring.''

The project is being funded by a $1 million three-year grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention in Washington, D.C.

``The people here are very isolated,'' said Norma Gallegos-Rosen, director of the prevention project. ``It was so bad before. They didn't go out because of fear and they didn't let their kids out. But they are using this program to come together and they know they are helping their kids. This is about being empowered.''

Programs like these will help bring Latino children and families up to speed, said Jane Delgado, president and CEO of the National Coalition of Hispanic Health and Human Services organizations in Washington, D.C.

The organization released the report ``Growing Up Hispanic,'' which shows Latino adolescents are now the largest group of children - 12 million - in the country after white children.

``The whole issue of self-esteem is very important,'' said Delgado. ``We need more programs like this. It's important that the communities identify what they want because they know best what they need. They have to try to show a real commitment and it has to be an ongoing effort.''

The organization is opening six centers across the country to help track information on Latino children. One center is scheduled to open in Los Angeles in August.

Gallegos-Rosen acknowledges that programs like hers can't address all of the problems plaguing residents on Blythe Street. Health care, education and job opportunities are badly needed.

``A two- or three-year shot of a program like this is not enough,'' she said. ``I think there is still a lot of work to be done. We need violence prevention, education. We need more collaboration with the schools.

``Hopefully, as the community changes, if they become more empowered, they can address some of these issues.''

Senior lead Officer George Flores of the Los Angeles Police Department's Van Nuys Division describes the changes on Blythe Street as ``miraculous.''

``When I first stepped on that street (five years ago) I expected the worst, and I found the worst,'' he said. ``But I also found that 80 percent of the people there were not bad.''

He credits social service agencies, private and public, for helping the community and resident groups for responding.

``We are on our way to cleaning it up,'' Flores said. ``There's a momentum there. Blythe Street still has its share of crime, and we still have work to do, but it's improved tremendously.''

Esmeralda, who wants to be a psychologist someday, said she never had any role models until she met the staff at the San Fernando Valley Partnership. Now she's become a role model for her younger siblings.

``My 9-year-old sister looks up to me, wants to do what I do, and she says she wants a better life for herself,'' Esmeralda said. ``Me? I want a peaceful life. I want to help people out. That's my mission.''

The teen-ager is already helping others out by setting an example, talking to younger kids on her street and bringing them to leadership meetings.

``I tell them things can still be good even though we live on a bad street,'' she said. ``But right now, I'm proud of the street for the positive changes that are taking place. Before I felt there was no hope.''

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

PHOTO (1 -- color) Luz America Choy of the SFV Partnersh ip teaches a class about Mayan culture.

(2) Project coordinator Albert Melena has some laughs with a teen group as he helps plan summer outings and activities for the members.

Michael Owen Baker/Daily News