Oxnard Pursues Home for Evicted Women’s Center

Oxnard officials are in negotiations to buy a 5,200-square-foot property for a women’s drug and alcohol recovery center being forced out of College Park, but center workers are worried that the house is not adequate for their needs.

The two-acre property at 1810 E. Wooley Road includes a ranch-style house with five bedrooms and an office and another building with two rooms, said Ernest Whitaker, housing rehabilitation manager with the city of Oxnard.

A two-car garage can also be converted for use as bedrooms, he said.

“There’s enough space,” Whitaker said. “They wanted 25 beds, and it certainly would take care of that.”

But Pat Williams, Rainbow Recovery Center’s program director, said the site lacks enough space for counseling or offices.

“I’ve been working here for 18 years and when I saw the house, I just knew automatically there wasn’t enough space,” Williams said. “I don’t think people understand that this isn’t OK.”

Williams said center officials have tried to raise enough money to buy their own house, but have not been successful.

City officials would not say how much they offered for the house, but last week applied for a $500,000 grant from the state’s Emergency Housing Assistance Program, Whitaker said.

Whitaker said Rainbow officials toured the house last week and seemed satisfied.

They have not suggested other locations, Whitaker said.

“To us it was sort of an ideal spot for them,” Whitaker said. “The house is in tip-top shape and has adequate space.”

The Rainbow Ladies, as the residents and employees are often called, have been at College Park for 18 years.

But late last year, the city undertook a $20-million renovation for the 75-acre park that does not include the recovery center.

The two houses the Rainbow center currently rents will be used for a farm heritage museum.

Also in the park’s master plan are two dog parks, baseball and soccer fields, a lighted basketball area, a fenced skate park and a 26,000-square-foot community center with a gym.