Para Los Niños has been selected to operate as a Peace & Healing Center in Los Angeles as part of a $2 million pilot program funded through the City of Los Angeles’ Reforms for Equity and Public Acknowledgement of Institutional Racism (L.A. REPAIR) program and created by the LA Civil Rights Department. PLN will run the South LA center, one of eight across the nine communities designated most in need by the city – each called a “REPAIR Zone.” Centers will partner with local community-based organizations to create community spaces and culturally informed programming for environmental, economic, and social healing. 

“Operating a Peace & Healing Center will advance PLN’s work around social justice and equity, and expand our presence to support families,” said Sam Joo, Para Los Niños Vice President of Student and Community Services. “We are going in with awareness of longstanding inequities that impact the South LA community, which include low access to resources and committed stakeholders.” 

PLN’s South LA Peace and Healing Center will serve as a hub to address social, economic and environmental racism by addressing food and housing insecurity; and connecting the community to mental health resources, quality health care, and education. “We enter this space with a restorative approach, by engaging with the community in an authentic, relational, and committed way,” added Joo. 

Each center will offer diverse programming to meet their community’s unique needs, and will also act as an interconnected Peace & Healing network to provide immediate support and healing spaces in times of citywide crisis. In the South LA “REPAIR Zone” specifically, the need for immediate support and healing spaces for youth and families is more critical than ever in the aftermath of the pandemic. 

Para Los Niños has served Los Angeles communities over 42-years by creating effective and culturally centered schools and initiatives for underserved communities of color. Today, the organization operates an integrated partnership model ensuring services are evidence-based, trauma-informed, culturally relevant, and developmentally appropriate.