The grants, worth $200,000 each, are set to be approved Tuesday by the Los
Angeles County Board of Supervisors. They come out of a $20 million pool of county
general funds the supervisors set aside in June 2005 to fund shelters and services for
the homeless and the homeless support system.     
            Some 1,000 youths are emancipated from the county foster care system each
year, when they turn 19 or graduate from high school. Some are at great risk for
homelessness or incarceration, experts say.     
           “Penny Lane for a great many years has done an absolutely fantastic job with
emancipated youth coming out of the foster care system and Supervisor Antonovich
has…. recognized their ability to provide life training and skills and make sure these
kids have a direction in their lives as they become adults,” said Norm Hickling, an
aide to county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the valley.
           Penny Lane applied for the grant funding, and Antonovich’s office was pleased
to work with the organization, Hickling said. “Supervisor Antonovich, knowing their
track record and superb ability to work with young people, had all the staff working to
get them funding.”
           Penny Lane operates transitional housing for about 20 young adults in the
Valley who have been emancipated from the foster care system, said Arthur Barr,
president of the organization’s board of directors.
           “There has been a lot of emphasis lately to provide shelter for people who are
homeless. Our contention is that one of the best ways to solve the problem is to
teach then to not be homeless in the first place,” Barr said. “We teach them independent
living skills, help them sharpen their business skills and have a skills center to teach
computer skills.”
           Youth, living in the transitional housing, on Cedar Avenue near Avenue J-4 in
Lancaster, generally stay about two years and pay rent, which is saved for when they
move out for a security deposit for their future housing.
            Construction to the AV Family Center could break ground this year, on land
owned by Penny Lane at Division Street and Avenue K in Lancaster, Barr said. The
30,000 square foot facility will replace a smaller and less efficient building that Penny
Lane rents in Palmdale.
            The total project will cost about $5.5 million, Barr said, and about $1 million
has been raised so far to reduce the amount Penny Lane will need to fund. Besides
the county grant, Penny Lane has hopes for about $650,000 in additional grants from
two foundations and proposals out for other grant funding.
            Penny Lane has about 800 clients in the Antelope Valley, and offers mental
health, foster family preservation programs, in addition to the services to emancipated
youth.