DOING HER SHARE AND MORE; VOLUNTEER FOR SENIORS JOINS GANG DETAIL.

Byline: Douglas Clark Daily News Staff Writer

Already knee deep in volunteer commitments, Mary Elizabeth Schick raised her hand again in January, agreeing to represent the Council on Aging on the city's Community Gang Task Force.

``I thought it would be interesting,'' Schick said. ``I'm sort of a go-between for the seniors and the city and the task force. I bring back what info I can.''

To gather information about how seniors feel about the threat of gangs, Schick spoke with managers and seniors at three senior apartment complexes in town. She also met with Council on Aging members and spoke with residents of two mobile-home parks for seniors.

Although a couple of the apartment complexes reported incidents of graffiti, Schick said those acts of vandalism could not be traced to gang activity.

``I'm not going to say we don't have gangs, because we do. But my perception is the seniors feel safe here. We don't have serious problems,'' she said.

Simi Valley police Lt. Dick Thomas, who helps organize the gang task force, agreed with Schick.

``Are people really concerned and scared? No. Do they know we have problems that need our attention? Yes,'' he said.

Thomas praised Schick and said it was important to have a senior citizen on the gang task force.

``Seniors are a dynamic, viable part of our community. And she's certainly contributed a lot and provided a great perspective,'' he said.

That perspective goes beyond the issue of gangs. In a sense, while attending meetings and chatting generally about the community, Thomas said Schick gives the Police Department a broader view of all things great and small that affect seniors.

``Schick's participation has provided an `excellent vehicle for communications,' '' he said. ``Her participation has been tremendous.''

Though the gang task force won't meet again until Aug. 19, Schick has plenty of chores to tend to and other tasks to consider.

For instance, the Council on Aging would like seniors to work at the Boys & Girls Club. When the nature of those duties is made clear, Schick said she just may raise her hand again.

``Mainly, what I'm doing is listening to see what needs to be done,'' she said.

In the meantime, Schick remains active in the Simi Valley Womans Club, the local chapter of the American Association of Retired Persons, and is a board member for the Council on Aging.

She also works two hours each week in the used-book store at the Simi Valley Public Library.

Schick, 71, known to her friends as Betty, moved with her family to Simi Valley 23 years ago from Rochester, N.Y. Not long after the move, she saw an ad in a newspaper and volunteered to work with Pet Assistance, a group that helped people find their lost pets.

``I got over my head in that. I've been volunteering ever since,'' she said.

She soon took on other jobs while raising her children, Jeffrey, who now lives in Ohio, and Joan, who lives in Moorpark.

Schick's wish to have a full, outgoing life was influenced somewhat by her mother, who was widowed at an early age. Schick's mother clung to her two daughters, and rarely agreed to participate in activities that took her away from them.

``My sister and I were her whole life,'' she said.

Although she respected her mother's choices, Schick was determined that her own children would be ``independent'' and that she wouldn't become one of those seniors who just sit in their homes and ``vegetate.''

She praises the Council on Aging for providing so many services and activities for seniors.

``The council has so much to offer seniors - if you can just get them out,'' she said.

Despite her many activities, Schick remains modest in her assessment of her motives.

``I think it's just a wish to keep busy,'' she said.

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Photo: (Color) In addition to working with seniors, Mary Elizabeth Schick volunteers at the bookstore in the Simi Valley Library.

Tina Gerson/Daily News