Ed Asner Family Center looking for new location to continue helping LA's special needs community

RESEDA, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Families with special needs have been turning to the Ed Asner Family Center in Reseda for help and support, but the center has lost its lease and needs somewhere to go.

The center has been a staple in the community for special needs families since opening in 2017. It's named after famed actor and philanthropist Ed Asner, who also had a son with autism.

"I think this is so needed in any community because there's a segment of a population who are autistic, who are invisible and they need to be visible," said Matthew Asner, son of Ed Asner and co-founder of the Ed Asner Family Center. "We make them visible."

Matthew and his wife Navah Paskowitz-Asner have three sons with autism.

They say the facility offers resources, services to children and adults and has become a safe space for many.

"It's always nice to meet fellow autistic people and to have that community," said Chelsea Darnell, social director of the center.

The Asner's were recently notified their lease would not be renewed and they have to be out of the building in 60 days.

They're now scrambling to find a new space in the area that can support what they do.

"We love this place, and it's going to be very hard to find something that equals what we have here," Navah said.

"I'm so worried about the center closing because it's like our family, and it's our home away from home," said Spencer Harte, who attends the center.

Matthew and Navah are hoping someone can help them find a new location, but wherever they do reopen, they say the Ed Asner Family Center will continue its mission.

"I'll miss this place, but at least I'll get to hang out in it in the last few days before it closes," said Atticus Baldwin.

"This place was built with love, and any place we go to next will be built with that same love," Matthew said.