Goal, Keep families in their homes

Palmdale/Pearblossom - United Way of Greater Los Angeles and Eastmont Community Center partnered with Strength Based Community Change (SBCC) to come the Antelope Valley to assist and provide very basic and essential services to lower income families.

Pictured are the SBCC representatives Gaby Leyva, Andrea Rosenthal and Erika Schwerdt. There were hot dogs, music, games and refreshments provided for the families who came to Pearblossom for the variety of services provided. Through the generosity of the Pearblossom Community Center, the location was ideal for the event.

Friday and Saturday March 25 and 26, the team set up shop at the Pearblossom Community Center assisting residents with no-cost tax preparation. The week before the team set up in Palmdale at the Yucca Community Home with the same mission.

Ms. Denise Ocana with United Way said, “Our goal is to keep families in their homes. We know why services are necessary in the Antelope Valley as United Way works with SBCC as our partners and with Eastmont Community Center to provide no-cost services here. Over one hundred families will get connected to as many resources and benefits that are available such as California State Rental Assistance, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, utility assistance and here today, no-cost tax services. On average each family we assisted these two days saved $200 on tax preparation fees.

“It has been 8 years since we were here. With SBCC as our partners, we are back. Between Friday and Saturday in Palmdale and Pearblossom we helped 36 families with tax preparation services.”

Eastmont Community Center was founded in 1967 in collaboration with the Disciples of Christ Church to enhance the quality of life for children, youth, working adults and seniors in low-income families. Members of the church and local leaders were concerned about the impact of the urban crisis in the Eastmont area of East Los Angeles. As a result, the Eastmont Community Center was born. The center is a community-based organization with the goal to provide human, social and educational services to the residents of East Los Angeles and the surrounding communities that promote personal and self-development. Brenda Mata, Program and Operations Manager with the tax team said, “We partnered with SBCC and United Way to bring tax preparation services to the Antelope Valley with two tax events in Palmdale and Pearblossom. Our system is certified by the IRS.”

Maria Perez, Program Associate with Eastmont defined VITA as the IRS's Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs offer free basic tax return preparation to qualified individuals. The VITA program has operated for over 50 years. VITA sites offer free tax help to people who need assistance in preparing their own tax returns, including people who generally make $58,000 or less, persons with disabilities and limited English-speaking taxpayers.

Some staggering numbers came out of these two events. Friday the figures were $35,860 in Federal tax refund, $4,944 State refunds and savings in earned income and advanced child tax credit. Saturday’s figures were $55,284 Federal refund, $9,229 State refund and savings in earned income and advanced child tax credit.

Erika Schwerdt added, “As March and April come by, most people have done their taxes. However, the need is still there.

“Seniors should also consider doing their taxes because even if they do not owe money, having a report of how much they earned is needed for senior programs that have income guidelines.

“Anyone who still needs to have their income taxes filed, even if it is past the deadline, can contact SBCC and have them done for free through our partnership with United Way. You can contact SBCC by phone at 310-414-2090 and asked to be referred to your local community organizer or email: co_referrals@sbaycenter.com."

There is great hope and eagerness in the future as United Way of Greater Los Angeles teams with SBCC to bring awareness and services to the forefront for the Antelope Valley.

By Shirley Harriman