By CARLOS VILLATORO

With only five days until the Flood Assistance Center on Elm Street closes its doors to victims of the New Year's Eve flood, an effort is underway to get more people to take advantage of relief services. On Sunday morning 40 bilingual volunteers from St. John the Baptist Catholic Church's Grupo Jesed, Aldea Children and Family Services' CLARO program and Vintage High School's Leadership Program, walked some of the hardest-hit areas in Napa and spread the word about relief services.

Teams of mostly-teenaged volunteers gathered at 10 a.m., at the flood center and received a bit of training before knocking on doors. Lanie Peterson, 14, a freshman at Vintage High School, and Henry Rabanales, 15, a freshman at Napa High School, paired up to do a bit of role-playing before hitting the streets.

Felix Bedolla, coordinator of the center's Latino Outreach Program, said as much as 90 percent of the 814 families that have visited the center so far are Spanish-speaking only.

"The Latinos don't have a lot of money, and many of them were affected by the flood," Rabanales said. "I want to go to them and tell them that there is help out there."

"Not everyone is as fortunate as others," Peterson added.

The duo and their counterparts walked on Ida Street and surrounding neighborhoods and were well received by most of the residents they visited.

"I'm going to go back to the center to see if they can help me get a new car," Hugo Martinez said.

His car sits in his driveway, with small puddles of flood water still inside it. Martinez said he's visited the center before, but wasn't aware of the new non-profit organizations that are making strides in helping people get back on their feet.

Among those agencies is Tzu Chi Foundation, a non-profit group that helps with everything from housing to medication. Bedolla said one of the primary reasons they are visiting homes is that many people came to the center when it first opened on Jan. 4., and have not returned for further assistance. Additionally, most Latinos don't feel they don't qualify for services.

"Some services, you don't need legal (immigration) documentation," Bedolla said.

One of the volunteers walking the streets Sunday, Jose Renteria, lost clothes, shoes and furniture in the flood and decided to work as an American Red Cross volunteer after receiving assistance from the center. Renteria, 17, has been working at the center for three weeks as a bilingual interpreter and said that many people come in for clothing, food and bedding. He also said that there are many people, mostly Spanish-speakers, reluctant to come into the center.

"A lot of people are embarrassed about coming for help," he said. "They're just not used to it."

Community Foundation of the Napa Valley, a local non-profit organization, donated $50 per volunteer to the organization from where the volunteer came from, Bedolla said. Volunteers will continue outreach services today. Aside from visiting homes, Bedolla and other volunteers have placed fliers around town, delivered public service announcements to local radio stations and visited St. John's to help spread the word about the center.

Marj Dixon, Napa's Red Cross Director, said that the Flood Relief Center will remain opened if the federal government declares a state of emergency in Napa County, which would open up millions of dollars of resources to assist with the rebuilding process.

The Flood Relief Center is located at 2261 Elm Street, building K, and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Assistance is available in both Spanish and English and for further information call 299-1977. No appointment is necessary.