Rescue Mission Offers Needy a Helping Hand

Carol Roberg thinks that sometimes people are leery of dropping by the Ventura County Rescue Mission, whether it’s to donate something or simply to see how the mission helps the homeless and the hungry.

“They come here thinking they’re going to see a bunch of old winos, and instead they see people learning how to work on cars, use computers and become cooks,” said Roberg, who runs the facility with her husband, Jerry.

While many of the clients waiting for a hot meal would not be mistaken for Armani-clad stockbrokers, people who do pay a call to the newish 30,000-square-foot building see a clean, bright facility, often bustling with activity.

And with three hot meals served daily to more than 500 people, good smells are likely to be wafting from the open cafeteria-style kitchen.

Accepting no government funds, the rescue mission relies solely on volunteer help and donations to, as the bimonthly Mission News newsletter says, “provide Gospel services, food, clothing, lodging, counseling, spiritual guidance, job training, education, literacy and medical services.”

A tall order.

And a lot of the work gets done, Carol Roberg said, by people who have used the rescue mission’s services.

“We got people in our drug and alcohol recovery program to help us build the new building last year,” she said. “For instance, the man who runs our industrial operation, Joe Thomas, now runs our whole thrift store operation, too. When he first came, he was in such bad shape from heroin, they had to carry him in here.

“The 40 men in our recovery program do half-days of work, half-days of therapy,” she said. “In the kitchen we have a five-level training program, all the way up to chef.”

But the core purpose of the rescue mission can be found in what is mentioned first in the newsletter’s statement of purpose: Gospel services.

“We have a different church come in every night,” Roberg said. “Black churches sometimes bring choirs, some churches do mariachi music. Some churches don’t do services, but help with donations.”

She said attending the religious service isn’t a requisite for a free meal, “but most people want to attend. They want some hope.”

The Robergs’ administrative assistant, Wayne Warzecka, describes the rescue mission’s religious role this way: “We’re not a church, but we partner with local churches. We have a lot of local support, too, from 50 different churches from all over--Agoura to Ojai.”

The rescue mission also joins with other support agencies in the county. “All the nonprofits work together,” Carol Roberg said. “For instance, the Salvation Army helps us out with medical aid.

“There’s plenty of homeless people to go around.”

The rescue mission has 78 beds, “plus we can put more beds in the chapel if we need to,” she said.

Because the mission does not accept government assistance or “go door to door, our biggest way of raising funds is through direct mail,” Roberg said. “Jerry is very good at it. We send out 30,000 newsletters a month.

“The bulk of our donations come from senior citizens on fixed incomes,” she said. “Probably $25 is average. And sometimes children bring pennies in.”

Roberg said she and her husband have tried to analyze why senior citizens account for so many of their donations.

“I think it’s because they remember the Depression, and they see we actually do something, not just warehouse people.”

This spring, two new Ventura County Rescue Mission programs are scheduled to begin. “We plan to open a winter warming shelter here just for women and children in a couple of weeks,” Roberg said. “And we’ll soon open a 12-bedroom house called the Lighthouse Family Transitional Center.”

Roberg said that since she and her husband came to Oxnard in 1988 from San Francisco, they have observed a theme in the lives of the people, especially the men, who have needed the mission’s help.

“There’s been a serious emotional event that triggered it: ‘My wife died, I got a divorce, I lost my job,’ ” she said. “And men, as opposed to women, are supposed to just buck up and not be emotional. So in a way, they just don’t know what to do.”

FYI

The Ventura County Rescue Mission, 234 E. 6th St., in Oxnard, exists through donations of money, food and clothing. It often resells items through its Oxnard and Ventura Mission Bargain Centers. To arrange for a pickup, call (805) 487-1234.