COMPANY LENDS HELPING HAND MOVING SENIOR TENANTS.

Byline: DIANA PEYTON Community Columnist

Sometimes the right person just shows up at the right time. Whether good Samaritan or angel in disguise, people here in the San Fernando Valley have enriched the lives of others through service and involvement.

Liz Goldman of PCS Property Management realized that for the elderly and weak, it is a frightening and impossible task to relocate.

A few senior tenants in the Sherman Oaks apartment building she manages needed to move out for renovations. One was William Wilson.

On a fixed income, the 88-year-old was living in an apartment that had not been repaired since the Northridge Earthquake. Old newspapers were stuffed into the cracks of the apartment walls to keep out winter cold.

He saves newspapers dating back to 1927 and owns a collection of old records. Goldman says Wilson is methodical about where he keeps things but had acquired a lot of them.

The octogenarian was set in his way of living in the building he called home for 10 years.

``I talked to him like he was my father,'' Goldman said. ``It took some doing to convince him that the move would be good for him.

``Mostly he argued, but when I insisted, he came with me.'' she said.

She helped him find a new apartment and offered to take him to the market when he needs it.

PCS Development owns the property now under renovation. CEO Paul Jennings purchased a new bed, blankets and pillows for Wilson. PCS Development paid a cleaning company to launder his clothing and a moving company to relocate him.

``That day, I took him out and kept him company while this was all going on. He even came with me to pick up my daughter,'' Goldman said.

The day the bed arrived, Goldman took the time to go to Wilson's new apartment and make it up for him.

The move is over, but the help continues. ``I go by once a week now to see if he's OK,'' she said. ``He's kind of set in his ways; he doesn't believe in a telephone.''

Senior citizens Connie and Pasqual Ceraso also needed to move for the renovation, but Pasqual is a 93-year-old double amputee and Connie's eyesight is failing.

Along with the $5,000 relocation fee for the tenants facing displacement, PCS Development moved the couple into a new apartment for the same rent. They can live there until their old building is renovated.

The development company was formed in 1995 through the Ghost Town Project created by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the City of Los Angeles.

Moonyeen Powers, English as a Second Language teacher at Rinaldi Adult Center in Granada Hills, has affected the lives of numerous people in the Valley with her style and devotion in the classroom. She teaches more than English in a way that has set her apart.

Her students in their self-described ``adopted country'' have learned to overcome personal, career and cultural barriers through her creative teaching style.

Student Jose Marti from Cuba enjoyed reading the newspaper and discussing the articles in class. He says he learned to understand what he reads in English through the exercises. He was inspired to reach toward his life goals.

Powers' students put into practice what they learned from her. They compiled a notebook of praise and appreciation, which 73 of them signed and sent to a local television station. Their efforts resulted in the presentation to Powers of the Crystal Apple Award from KNBC (Channel 4) and Sylvan Learning Centers for extraordinary Southland teachers.

One ESL student, Marta Anna Wojda, likens Powers to Socrates, Jaime Escalante and the Rev. Martin Luther King. Still others, like Sharon Lu, said Powers teaches with humor.

Whatever Powers' methods, her students say she has woven a language of dedication and love into simple English for them.

Five Valley women have made a commitment to become Big Sisters and befriend, mentor and guide young women.

The newly trained volunteers are Maite Garcia of Glendale, Monica Green of Northridge, Lissa Caruth of Tarzana, Karen Jacobs from Woodland Hills and Cathy Fink of Van Nuys.