EAST LOS ANGELES : Some Sisterly Advice From Adult Mentors

Young women throughout Los Angeles County are invited to a free “Woman to Woman” conference Friday at the Red Cross Multicultural Area Health Education Center.

The all-day conference will bring together teen-age girls and adult mentors in various careers to discuss respect, responsibility and relationships.

The theme was taken from suggestions the girls made at a conference of Mujeres y Hombres Nobles, a federally funded county program that seeks to get pregnant teen-agers, gang members, drug users and juvenile offenders back into school, off drugs, out of gangs and into counseling.

The May conference also included young men and was sponsored by the Los Angeles County Office of Education Division of Alternative Education.

The Friday meeting will be sponsored by the Division of Alternative Education, the office of Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) and the Multicultural Area Health Education Center.

“It’s geared toward our young women because a lot of them are falling through the cracks and a lot of their issues are not being addressed,” said conference chairwoman Stephanie A. Volk. “We try to work on the positive. A lot of people talk about the gangs and drugs but don’t offer solutions.”

Volunteers will put on skits, and groups of teen-agers with adult mentors will break up into smaller groups to discuss the issues affecting the young women, Volk said. Deputy Mayor Jadine Nielsen will be the keynote speaker.

Adults who have volunteered work as attorneys, teachers, counselors and in other professions, Volk said. The group also includes parents.

The conference is from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the center, 5051 E. 3rd St.

Information: Volk or Gloria Chavez at the Northwest Alternative Education Center, (818) 376-0180.