San Fernando Attacks Its Graffiti

A graffiti-removal program already operating in Los Angeles opened an office Tuesday to serve San Fernando.

Teams of San Fernando juvenile offenders on probation will clean up graffiti in their city at no cost to those requesting the service, said Michael W. Agopian, executive director of Project HEAVY, a Pacoima-based group.

Under a contract with Los Angeles, the nonprofit Project HEAVY (Human Efforts Aimed at Vitalizing Youth) has operated a graffiti-removal program in the San Fernando Valley for a year and a half, Agopian said.

The San Fernando City Council awarded the organization $25,000 in April to open its new office, at 519 South Brand Blvd., and serve the city for one year.

The San Fernando office will be open five days a week for the next two months, then three days a week for the rest of the year, Agopian said.

Since the inception of the graffiti-removal program, Project HEAVY has supervised 374 youths in 12,000 hours of cleanup at 1,800 Valley sites, Agopian said. From 20% to 30% of the offenders had admitted that they wrote graffiti at one time or another, he said.