UNITED WAY FOCUSES ON HOMELESSNESS GIRL SCOUTS LEFT OUT IN AGENCY'S REVISED FUNDING STRATEGY.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

A Littlerock center for homeless women and their children is in and the Girl Scouts are out, the United Way said Friday in launching its new funding strategy to fight homelessness, improve education and provide child care.

In a bid to strengthen services and boost its effectiveness, the region's largest charitable group announced about $16 million for 139 agencies, down from 188 organizations.

One of the new agencies is St. Joseph Manor, Antelope Valley's first center for homeless women and their children that is set to open next week in Littlerock.

St. Joseph Manor applied for $150,000 in funding from United Way, but center officials didn't know how much the center will be getting.

"We are so appreciative, and we can make anything they give us work. I'm so excited," said Jenny Garibay, executive director of the nonprofit corporation that will operate the program. "We fit the profile of what they needed perfectly."

Not being funded is the Girl Scouts-Joshua Tree Council, which is based in Bakersfield but oversees Girl Scouts units in Antelope Valley, Santa Clarita Valley, and all of Kern County.

"We are getting nothing. We are very disappointed," said Linda Wright, the council's chief executive officer. "All six Girl Scout councils in Los Angeles County were declined. None of us is getting an allocation."

Wright said the Joshua Tree Council had been getting United Way funding for more than two decades, averaging $25,000 to $30,000 annually. The council spends about $1 million to provide services in the region.

The council will look to other sources of funding to make up for the loss of United Way monies.

"We are looking at local foundations, we are looking at businesses to underwrite specific programs. We are going to parents of girls and members of the community," Wright said. "The Girl Scouts is an important part of the community. We do a great service for girls and we help them become stronger citizens when they grow up."

Valley Oasis, an organization that provides services to domestic violence victims and the homeless, will continue to receive United Way funding.

The agency has received United Way funding in the past through mini-grants and United Way's annual fundraising campaign, but officials said the application process this year was more competitive.

"This whole request-for-proposal was brand new. It was a more competitive and formal process," Valley Oasis executive director Carol Crabson said.

Antelope Valley Hospital's Healthy Homes program, which serves high-risk pregnant women and families with newborns, has received United Way funding through donors specifically requesting their money go to it, but this year will be the first time it receives a direct grant from United Way, officials said.

Other agencies on United Way's list released Friday are headquartered elsewhere but provide services or have offices in the Antelope Valley.

Those include Catholic Charities, which runs the Lancaster homeless shelter; the National Mental Health Association of Greater Los Angeles; Partners in Care Foundation, which operates the Care-a-Van mobile clinic; Child Care Resource Center; and Children's Bureau of Southern California.

[e-mail]

[phone]