More Help Due for Storm Victims

More help is on its way to Ventura County residents who were washed out of their homes by El Nino.

This week, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul will pick up where the Red Cross and FEMA left off by literally delivering the goods to several February flood victims who lost possessions in Oxnard and Ventura.

The charity, run by Catholic lay people and working in tandem with the American Red Cross, will deliver washing machines, dinette sets, blankets, clothes, sofas and even the first month’s rent on Friday to families in the two cities whose apartments were flooded or destroyed.

“In March, we’ve helped 31 flood victims and still counting,” St. Vincent de Paul representative Josie Cabillo said this week.

The area branch of the international charity is “helping to pick up the other pieces” not in the domain of the Red Cross or the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Cabillo said.

The local branch of the society covers Ventura, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles counties. Its funds come from thrift stores in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, plus donations of money and goods.

On Friday, deliveries of furniture and appliances are scheduled for several Mission Avenue, Ramona Street and Cedar Street addresses in Ventura, and on Ventura Road in Oxnard.

Cabillo said one need not be Catholic to receive help from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. “All you have to be is in need.”

To donate furniture, clothes or appliances, call the Los Angeles store’s toll-free number at (800) 974-3571, or call (213) 224-6280.