Community Corner
Children's Institute Makes the Move to Echo Park
This century-old service agency opens a new campus in the neighborhood.
A long-standing institution has a new home in Echo Park. The Children’s Institute Inc. has opened a stunning new 48,000 square foot headquarters complex on Temple Street. For over a hundred years, the CII has served the families and children of Los Angeles. Now, in 2011, they’ve come to the east side with the Otis Booth Campus.
The three buildings of the complex host a variety of services and offices. In addition to the headquarters of this non-profit service agency, the campus hosts a technology center, a library, a pre-school and a teen center. This former vending machine warehouse has been transformed by Koning Eizenberg Architecture to serve the CII’s many needs. But in addition to its functionality and design, the building is LEED-certified. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The renovation, says Director of Communications Lizanne Fleming, “has been done with passion.” The bright colors, polka dots and abundant light make this center inviting for children and adults alike. Bright orange dots – some of them reflective – adorn the outside of the main building. Beneath them, small citrus trees grow their own orange orbs in the edible garden.
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Fun details abound. Next to the reception desk a large aerial photo declares “You are here.” The back room, intended one day to serve as a hang-out for teens, has a wall painted with origami how-to instructions. The art room showcases some of the works of the children the CII serves.
The original focus of the CII was serving the women of Los Angeles, but its scope expanded to serve children traumatized by violence in the home or in the neighborhood. That has continued to be their niche through decades of activity. For children suffering from the effects of violence, abuse or neglect, the CII offers mental health care, early child care and education and child enrichment like arts and music. And they also offer family support, from education on parenting, finances or even ESL to support for fathers or grandparents who are caring for children. They hope to expand operations to include as many people from the community as they can.
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Although finding the warehouse space was fortuitous, the choice to move to Echo Park came first. The CII had outgrown their previous headquarters at 7th and New Hampshire. The neighborhood was chosen for its high population density and relative lack of resources. Echo Park has since proved to be “incredibly welcoming,” says Fleming. The CII hosted a Grand Opening for the new campus at the end of April 2011.
There seems to be no end to the ways in which the CII seeks to serve children and families. The technology center has desks with brand new iMacs on it for parents to learn how to use a computer or teens to mix their own music videos. The library boasts almost 5000 volumes, comfy couches and a lending system. Librarian Alicia Fox says it’s still “not enough – we love book donations.” They are especially fond of Spanish language books for all ages. The pristine pre-school rooms have colored pencils, puppets, costumes, paints and more to engage young learners. The school, once certified, will use the Reggio Emilia method to teach. The therapy rooms for Parent Child Interactive Therapy allow therapists to unobtrusively observe and instruct parents dealing with children. One-way mirrors and abundant treats and toys help the process.
“It was really nice to move in here,” admits administrative coordinator Joanna Cole. About 150 of the CII’s 500 employees now work at the Otis Booth Campus. However, now that the center has been successfully built, “we have to operate it,” says Fleming. Donations are always gladly welcomed – as are volunteers. Donations of books, toys or money can always help the children at CII. And volunteers, especially bilingual ones, can read to kids, teach skills or help with events like the annual Holiday Festival.
CII's new Otis Booth Campus is located at 2121 West Temple St. 90026. Click here for additional contact information.