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The Salvation Army Los Angeles Red Shield Youth & Community Center serves more than 4,000 children and their parents and is known in its Pico Union neighborhood as an ?oasis for families.? At the Red Shield, children participate in tutoring, soccer, basketball, baseball, karate, ballet, drama, swimming, scouting, computer learning and arts programs.
The primary focus at the Red Shield is to encourage kids to stay in school and equip parents with the capacity to parent their children well and become their primary educators.
 In the 1940?s, the growth of the Pico Union community and the rise in crime created the need for a youth development program. So, in 1949, The Salvation Army bought two adjacent lots and secured community funding that helped build a gymnasium and game room. Both were officially opened in 1950. To accommodate the Red Shield?s tremendous growth, the Harry Chandler Memorial Pool was added in 1954 and that same year, The Junior League of Los Angeles provided the funds for a girl?s wing. In 2001, a new arts and education building was added, complete with a computer lab, library and state-of-the-art dance studio.
Now, the Red Shield sets a high standard in Los Angeles with programs designed specifically for at-risk kids and their parents. Some of the special programs at the Center include: - City Ballet of Los Angeles, which provides classical, contemporary, and cutting edge dance instruction to students in Red Shield's state-of-the-art dance studio.
- Children?s Theatre Playhouse, which trains students in all facets of theater production culminating in theater productions.
- The Red Shield Karate Club, which has achieved national recognition and has earned several state and local titles.
- An On-Track program gang-diversion program for kids in year-round school.
- Parenting workshops in collaboration with Soledad Enrichment Action (SEA), which teach skills such as healthy parenting styles and budget planning.
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