RED TAPE STALLS MEND'S MOVE DELAY THREATENS AID FOR NEEDY.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN

Staff Writer

PACOIMA -- Bureaucratic missteps by two city departments threaten to delay the long-planned move of the San Fernando Valley's largest poverty-assistance group, jeopardizing aid to thousands of needy residents.

Meet Each Need With Dignity, which has been operating for decades out of a warehouse on Van Nuys Boulevard, was scheduled to begin moving Friday into an $8.5million complex nearby.

But delays and miscommunication by the Department of Water and Power and the Department of Public Works have prevented the charity from getting its required certificate of occupancy -- a problem that could take a month to rectify.

"This is an exclamation point of the dysfunctional system ... and brings the whole inadequacy of the system to a head," said Steve Brown, who sits on the board of directors of MEND.

"A lot of this has to do with a broken system -- a huge bureaucracy that's so slow-moving. ... They're not user-friendly, they're not community- minded, and they don't care."

While preparing for its big move -- and the community celebration planned for March31 -- MEND had suspended its medical and dental clinics and scaled back its food and clothing giveaways.

Confusion abounds

The delays have created confusion among the charity's numerous volunteers, as well as its clients, who don't know where to go for services.

"We're very frustrated because we can't do our services," said Marianne Haver Hill, MEND's longtime executive director. "These are clients who are already struggling to survive. ... Coming here is a big deal for them."

MEND was started in the 1970s out of a residential garage and has been operating for years out of the 10,000-square-foot warehouse. It serves upward of 456,000 people a year, offering free food, clothing, dental and medical care, and job assistance.

Because of volunteers who donate about 7,000 hours a month, MEND has been able to greatly expand the services it offers. Officials said the new state-of-the-art facility on San Fernando Road would allow services to improve even more.

The 40,000-square-foot building has a clothing department, conference center and a food-distribution center large enough that all donations can be stored in one place rather than at venues all over Los Angeles.

But problems arose when the Department of Water and Power -- which donated more than $200,000 in services to the charity -- removed five unnecessary power poles near the new building early but inexplicably left one standing for eight weeks, delaying the start of electrical service.

DWP spokeswoman Darlene Battle said she was surprised to learn Friday that the two-month delay in removing the power pole had affected MEND's move into its new headquarters. She also said crews hadn't overlooked the pole, but had concentrated instead on getting power to the building.

"We've tried to expedite their project," Battle said. "We had worked closely with them trying to make sure that we were able to accommodate them and that we were able to meet deadlines."

But MEND officials said they hadn't gotten power in the new building until early March, which prevented them from completing the technical requirements - such as testing fire alarms - for getting the occupancy certificate.

MEND had planned to begin moving Friday, and it had packed up all of its supplies. Scores of student volunteers showed up to help carry boxes to the new headquarters, but they were told those duties were on hold.

A meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday between MEND and Public Works officials to try to resolve the problem. Haver Hill said if MEND can't move soon, all of the boxes will have to be unpacked so the charity can continue operating.

"The main thing is to meet us halfway and to be more flexible," she said. "We'll finish the jobs, and they can keep monitoring us, but there are no serious issues of public safety compromised if we move in now."

Public Works spokeswoman Cora Jackson-Fossett said the city agency wants to cooperate, but has to ensure that the building is up to code.

"We understand their desire to open the facility as soon as possible, and certainly they're performing a worthy cause," she said. "Our desire is also to get them in operation as soon as possible, but we cannot legally sign off until those public improvements are completed according to the municipal code.

"But we understand their desires, and our goal is not to stop them but to work with them, to seek to expedite their occupancy and resolve their challenges."

Clients suffering

Those who operate the charity are more concerned about the challenges facing their clients. The clinics serve diabetic patients, those who need eyeglasses, and those suffering from hypertension and dental problems.

"It's very terrible because we still have patients calling in with terrible pain, with toothaches," said Marleim Quezada, the dental clinic coordinator. "It's hard for them to find a place to receive free treatment."

Ruben Aguiniga of Pacoima, an occasional MEND client, said it took 15 years of complaining to get a streetlight installed in his sister's Pacoima neighborhood, and that the fiasco about the charity's headquarters reinforces his negative view of City Hall.

"If they don't let (MEND) move, it's going to stop a lot of people from eating. This is a necessity for me and for others for them to be open," said Aguiniga, 46.

"The city cares about the city. This place is poverty, and their attitude is 'We'll get to you when we get to you.' It ain't nothing new."'

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

[phone]

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Alemany High School senior Eddie Grinnell, 18, mops the floor at the new MEND building in Pacoima on Friday.

(2) Meet Each Need With Dignity waits on improvements so it can get its certificate of occupancy and open its 40,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility at San Fernando and Pierce roads.

Tina Burch/Staff Photographer