On January 7, 2006, East Palo Alto Police Officer Richard Allen May Jr. was murdered in the line of duty by a known gang member. A husband, father, and dedicated police officer was taken from his family and the community he protected. Rich had previously worked for the Lompoc Police Department for fourteen years, where he was instrumental in founding the Lompoc Valley Police Activities League Program. Rich also served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Boys and Girls Club, was a D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) Officer, and served as an Explorer Scout Advisor. During his selfless service with both police agencies, Rich May earned the respect, trust and admiration of scores of young people.
Despite the tremendous success of this program, a major problem facing the Lompoc Valley P.A.L. program is the fact that it has never had a permanent home. It temporarily utilizes a variety of existing facilities and outdoor locations, but without its own building P.A.L. is often restricted in it’s ability to offer a full compliment of youth services. Notwithstanding these challenges, in 2004-05, Lompoc Valley PAL served over 100 Probation Department-referred youth, and in excess of 1,000 other young people, through its community activities and sports programs.
Rich May=s dream was to build a conveniently located PAL Center where youth would find a safe haven from the dangerous influence of drugs, violence, and street gangs. With Rich’s tragic loss, that dream has now become our goal. The closure of the Lompoc municipal pool building (centrally located on the corner of Ocean Avenue and C Street at the City=s Civic Center complex) due to structural problems has created an exciting possibility for the center.
Over the last ten years gang problems in Lompoc grew to a point where the Police Department sought and obtained a gang injunction against two local street gangs. This injunction created a Safety Zone, where in gang members could not congregate or intimidate young youth to join the gangs. The Rich May Youth Center would be located adjacent to this Safety Zone and would serve as a safe haven for youth who live within the zone.
Demographically, there are 6,326 rental properties and 6,733 owner occupied homes within the City of Lompoc. Approximately 697 of 843 households on public assistance are within the Gang Safety Zone. Approximately 4,653 of the city’s 5,805 households living within “Poverty Status” are also within the Safety Zone. The recent census indicates that 1,477 of the city’s 1,946 overcrowded households are within the court designated Safety Zone. The per capita income for the City of Lompoc is $15,509.00. The median income within the Safety Zone is slightly lower at $14,530.22. According to the 2000 Census, demographics within the Safety Zone by race are approximately 7,598 White, 854 Black, 261 American Indian, 535 Asian, 44 Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, 3,886 Some Other Race and 1,021 claimed Two or More Races. According to the Census definitions, persons of Mexican, Central or South American background are included in “Some Other Race.” In addition, 8,058 persons in the Safety Zone claimed to be Hispanic or Latino (there were 15,337 citywide.) This is not included in race category, as the Census does not view a person’s prior nationality as a race.
