VENTURA : City Expected to Pick Agency to Run HERO

Ventura is expected to choose a nonprofit agency Monday to take over administration of the Homeless Emergency Relocation Operation Center on Aug. 1, city officials said.

The City Council is expected to vote at its July 31 meeting on the funding and nonprofit operation of the new program that will evolve from a temporary operation for emergency housing and services to a permanent assistance resource for the homeless, said Loretta McCarty, project manager for the city’s Community Services Department.

The City Council has set aside $105,000 in federal grant funds to pay for the center, McCarty said.

The HERO Center, currently run by Ventura County’s mental health department, opened Jan. 24 in response to the heavy rains in January that flooded the Ventura River and displaced river-bottom dwellers. One person was killed in the disaster.

More than 100 volunteers, social workers and city staff members were honored Monday for their contributions to the HERO Center, McCarty said.

Since January, the HERO Center has helped 110 river-bottom dwellers and 176 other homeless people with jobs, housing, drug and alcohol treatment, health care and other services, McCarty said.

As of June 30, 47 homes had been leased to those who had been living along the Ventura River, and 14 additional leases are under way, she said. Full-time jobs have been secured by 56 of the former Ventura River bottom residents. About 312 identification documents, including driver’s licenses, Social Security cards and birth certificates, have been issued to homeless individuals.

Ventura has spent $135,000 on the HERO Center and a transitional shelter at Camarillo State Hospital, and the city is seeking reimbursement from state and federal disaster agencies, McCarty said.

The HERO Center is at 303 N. Ventura Ave.