On Wednesday, December 13, the County of Ventura and the City of Ventura will open a Local Assistance Center at the Poinsettia Pavilion in Ventura. Located at 3451 Foothill road in Ventura, the center is a one-stop resource for residents affected by the Thomas Fire.
The Local Assistance Center will be open Monday through Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for the next two weeks, and longer if necessary. The hours are subject to change depending on demand. Bilingual staff will be available to provide assistance.
The center will be staffed by representatives from the County of Ventura, the City of Ventura, and nine state agencies, including the Department of Motor Vehicles. The County is also working on providing additional service centers in the Ojai and Santa Clara Valley areas for social, health care and permitting services. The Local Assistance Center is a short-term facility and will close after the initial recovery period, but the services will remain available at the normal city and county offices.
Residents will be able to use the Local Assistance Center to start their recovery from the fire. There will be information on debris removal, permits, housing, rental assistance, vital records, property assessments, public assistance, crisis intervention and stress management, and even services such as replacing driver’s licenses. Health care resources will be available on site to provide assistance, education, and connections to other health services in the community.
The center is expected to be very busy and, although walk-ins will be welcomed, appointments are strongly encouraged. Residents with appoints will receive priority service. Appointments can be made on the Ventura County Recovers website or by calling 211. Those requiring transportation to the center can call the hotline at (805) 465-6650.
To further aid fire victims, Ventura County Recovers is now offering a registration feature that allows residents to register their contact information to receive information on specific topics. They can also register the address of their damaged or destroyed property so that officials can proactively provide them with information and official notices related to the rebuilding process.
Because there will be numerous updates to the site as new information becomes available, registering on the site will help to ensure that current information gets to the people who need it most.
The registration feature is fully accessible by mobile, tablet and desktop devices.
