From The Desk Of Lorraine Garcia

As HPAL, in partnership with the LAPD Hollenbeck Division, celebrates 15 years of supporting youth and families of the Hollenbeck and Boyle Heights communities, I am honored to lead HPAL into the future as the new executive director. As a Boyle Heights native, long-time youth advocate, and one of HPAL’s founders, it is my privilege to give back to this community and continue helping kids stay on a positive life track. Having served over 15,000 youth and their families since 2003, we are proud of our HPAL programs that use a youth-development and community-policing approach with cops, students, parents, and volunteers, working together to create positive results for themselves and for our community

As one of the premier youth-serving organizations in the area and the ONLY civilian/law enforcement managed youth organization in Hollenbeck, collaborative efforts have proven vital in providing quality services and in meeting the needs of our clients. One such partnership is with the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work that has been instrumental in the enhancement and delivery of HPAL’s Get It Straight Program. Teaming-up in late 2016, HPAL, USC, and the LAPD-Hollenbeck Division created the Law Enforcement / Mental Health Teaching Institute (TI), a first in the country. In the TI, USC MSW graduate student interns work with HPAL police officers and case managers to deliver much-needed mental health services to local youth and their parents.

As we move forward, our HPAL board and staff are working diligently to ensure positive growth. As part of our organizational objectives we are committed to (1) strengthening our partnerships to ensure strong program models and their delivery with impactful and meaningful results and (2) expanding and improving our HPAL/USC Teaching Institute Model to support our youth development programs.

Steve Jobs once said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people.” Great things are occurring at HPAL because of the support we receive from you, our community, our donors, our amazing staff and board members, and, of course, the dedicated police officers that continue to give of themselves unselfishly each day to create a safe and viable community. Whether you support HPAL with your volunteer time, financially, or through other means, please know you are making a difference! Our mission of providing opportunities for underprivileged, low-income children and their families continues to drive us and we encourage you to join us.

If you haven’t already, please sign up for our newsletter, follow us on social media, join us at our fall fundraiser Hook’n’Book, and support our #GivingTuesday and Clippers Foundation Challenge campaigns in November. I look forward to working with each of you and I hope to see you soon!

With heartfelt thanks,

Lorraine Garcia

Executive Director