GETTING THE SCOOP ON QUAKE SAFETY : PREPAREDNESS CLASS HELD IN NEWHALL.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Daily News Staff Writer

Lupe Lopez scurried about the vacant furniture store, shushing toddlers as she alternated between English and Spanish in addressing the 200 or so East Newhall residents who gathered Wednesday for tips on handling the next big quake.

Though the audience had been strong-armed to be there - low-cost quake repairs in exchange for disaster preparedness training - the crowd of mostly Latino mothers was attentive through two hours of instruction.

``Many of the people here did not know what to do after the earthquake,'' said Lopez, director of the county Department of Community and Senior Services Santa Clarita Valley Center. ``They didn't know how to access emergency services and then later how to get relief.''

Leticia Aguilar sat in a folding chair, her year-old son squirming up a storm.

``After the earthquake my mother had big cracks in the house, a lot of things got broken,'' Aguilar said. ``These people, they helped us. This is teaching us how to help ourselves.''

The gathering was truly a community effort, which began last weekend when Lopez, her assistant, the pair of volunteers she calls the ``Sunshine Girls'' and neighborhood children paraded through town delivering about 10,000 fliers door-to-door.

Then on Wednesday volunteers were joined by a half-dozen youths from the Camp Scudder teen probation camp in Bouquet Canyon, two AmeriCorps members who led the discussion, United Mothers neighborhood advocates and Sunshine Girl Davey Diaz, who shows up to help as needed. Even the storefront used for the training was donated.

The program was part of a three-pronged quake response by the county, Lopez said.

The nonprofit Assure agency in Van Nuys provided funding for minor quake repairs for low-income households. The county service department administrated the program, and surveyed residents on how their physical, emotional and financial needs were met after the quake.

The team established the training session, which will be repeated at 1 p.m. Friday at Val Verde Park, 30300 W. Arlington Ave.

One goal of the program is to make certain quake victims know how to get help next time.

``They did not know where to go,'' said Sanjuana Guzman, a county community services analyst. ``They gathered in the park, but they couldn't stay there. They were misplaced. They lived with friends, whoever would take them in.''

Some were afraid to come forward for help because they are illegal immigrants who feared deportation, Lopez added.

Legal status has been immaterial in the service center quake education program and in the distribution of about 300 emergency kits.

The kits contained water, emergency rations, light sticks, a compact blanket and a first-aid packet. They also will be passed out at the Val Verde session.

``This is used as a model for people to build their own kits,'' Lopez said.

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3 Photos

Photo: (1--color in SAC only) Newhall resident Maria Pen a holds her daughter, Dalia, 1, while looking through an earthquake survival booklet at Wednesday's seminar.

(2--ran in SAC only--color) Emergency kits containing food and light sticks were handed out to families attending the program.

(3) Blance Rios of Newhall receives her emergency kit at Wednesday's earthquake preparedness seminar.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News