Salvation Army to Break Ground for Oxnard Site

It’s gray and dingy outside, dingy and cramped inside.

But if the Salvation Army headquarters in Oxnard is dreary now, consider what it looked like before Lt. Fred Morasky took over as commanding officer 1 1/2 years ago.

The carpet was so tattered that people tripped when walking down the halls, Morasky said.

Now there is new carpeting in the 40-year-old building at 138 W. Hill St., but Salvation Army workers still make brown bag lunches for hungry drop-ins in a 12-by-15-foot kitchen with virtually no counter space.

They worship in an austere, chilly chapel and work out of small, cluttered offices to assist the area’s growing low-income community.

And Morasky keeps overhead low by turning off heat in rooms when they are not in use. Still, Morasky noted, “you don’t need a heater” when the charity regularly packs 25 people into its tiny multipurpose room.

But there are brighter days ahead. A noon groundbreaking is scheduled today for a $1.7-million Oxnard-Port Hueneme Corps Center, triple the size of the existing 2,800-square-foot building.

Morasky said the new quarters--at Wooley Road and E Street--could be finished as early as November.

The charity runs a health clinic, 17 youth programs and several adult programs out of its current facility.

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The larger, Spanish-style building will feature a new drop-in center, a commercial-grade kitchen with hot-lunch capability, and expanded medical services, including an eye clinic. Officials also plan to negotiate with Haydock Intermediate School--next to the site--for playground space to accommodate soccer and softball programs.

Robert Butz, chairman of the charity’s advisory board and leader of the fund-raising campaign, said officials are $500,000 short of what is needed to build the center.

Various donors have pledged a total of $100,000 toward the targeted amount, but the donors are waiting until groundbreaking to release the donations, he said.

Officials have faith the community will come through with the remaining $400,000, but if needed a 6% loan will be obtained from division headquarters to reach the goal.

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If the $500,000 goal is met, Morasky hopes to convert the Hill Street structure into a child-care center to make it easier for low-income people to seek jobs or training.

“It’s just another way we can help people make the step up to better lives,” said another board member, Maureen Hooper Lopez.

Morasky and his wife, Lt. Sherryle Morasky, say the youth programs offered now are helping 85 to 90 people from ages 5 to 30 in the neighborhoods of La Colonia, El Rio, Squires, Rose Park and Port Hueneme.

He cited these La Colonia and El Rio success stories:

* One 11-year-old girl was a “holy terror” when she came to the center about two years ago, running around the chapel and tipping over pews, Morasky said. Now she’s an honor student.

* The 18-year-old daughter of migrant workers gained enough confidence through her Salvation Army activities to join the U. S. Army. She plans to return to assist her community after her military service.

* A 19-year-old woman who came from a family that included gang members found a new direction through the Salvation Army, Sherryle Morasky said. Now the woman is in college majoring in psychology to help her family and others with backgrounds similar to hers.

Butz said the charity has identified possible major donors but is also seeking help from the public. Donations, marked “Capital Campaign,” should be sent to the Salvation Army Oxnard-Port Hueneme Corps, 138 W. Hill St., Oxnard, CA 93032-0541.