Crisis Group Packs Bags to Lighten Load

Lana Kuhlen opened her canvas tote bag, and like Mary Poppins, began pulling out a child’s wish list of goodies: a seashells coloring book, crayons, a Richard Scarry car-and-truck volume, a kitten sticker book, a cardboard book for teething babies, and of course, a teddy bear.

Kuhlen and Ellie Vargas, coordinators of the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Valley Division Crisis Response Team, also possess bags containing child-sized toothbrushes, handmade quilts and brand-new night shirts.

“I love knowing that these simple items greatly benefit people,” said Kuhlen, 53. “The smallest gesture helps.”

Kuhlen, Vargas and the 23 other crisis team members rely on these comfort items when West Valley police and fire units call on them, to help crime victims or their family members.

In addition to the children’s items, the team carries a resource book with lists of clergy, psychologists, funeral and mortuary services and names of translators.

“Families are so frightened and sad when they lose loved ones either accidentally, through homicides or to suicide,” said Vargas, 63. “We lighten their load, which gives me tremendous satisfaction.”

The volunteers, both Woodland Hills residents, wear pagers and are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. When they receive a call from police, the volunteers send pairs of trained team members to the police station, hospitals or crime scenes that encompass a 55-square-mile area, including Tarzana, Canoga Park, Winnetka, Reseda, Encino, West Hills and Woodland Hills.

Once on scene, the volunteers console the crime victims, or when a death occurs wait until family members arrive.

The team was recently called to a neighborhood where residents were evacuated while police handled a situation where a person was barricaded inside a nearby house. The crisis team hauled out blankets, toys and clothing for the children, and gave police-directed updates to the adults who were eager to know when they could reenter their homes.

“I don’t know what I’d do without [the crisis response team],” said LAPD Capt. Cayler Lee Carter Jr., the West Valley Division’s commanding officer. “They often beat my detectives to calls where we’re dealing with traumatic situations. They very skillfully develop a rapport with families, allowing the officers to do their job.”

Vargas, the married mother of two grown children, is a retired nurse who was among the first health-care professionals in the state to be trained to work in hospital critical-care units.

In 1991, the community volunteer met Kuhlen, also a married mother of two, at a Neighborhood Watch meeting, where they quickly formed a close bond.

In the course of her volunteer work, Vargas heard about the crisis response team at the LAPD’s Harbor Division. She brought the idea to the attention of the West Valley’s police captain and senior lead officer, who agreed to establish such a service in their division.

Vargas brought Kuhlen on board, and by 1996 the pair had established a crisis team of nurses, teachers, business owners and others. Combined, they have answered nearly 200 calls, ranging from homicides to minor domestic disputes.

“I was raised to believe that you care for your fellow man,” Vargas said.

Her philosophy has evidently rubbed off.

“When you work with Ellie,” Kuhlen said, “you can’t help but get involved yourself.”