On Monday, Jan. 30 a group of more than twenty concerned citizens held a luncheon at the Spaghetti Factory on Loma Vista to discuss how to best serve the homeless and their pets. It was organized by Cappi Patterson and Debi Reeves on behalf of Buddy Nation.
Buddy Nation was formed by Debi Reeves to address the large population of homeless people and their beloved pets in Ventura. The homeless and their pets live in river bottoms, bushes, cars and trucks or wherever they can find shelter for the night. The economy has forced more and more people to lose their homes, and some end up on the streets. Many are there because they won’t give up their pets in order to find housing.
Attending the event were Buddy Nation volunteers and representatives from Supervisor Steve Bennett’s office, Ventura County Animal Services, Project Understanding, Mission Church, Humane Society, and several other organizations and individuals.
Those attending learned that there are many services available for the homeless and their pets that they were not familiar with. Breeze publisher Sheldon Brown volunteered to gather information (including their emails)from the various groups so that it and available to all of the various organizations dealing with the homeless population and their specific needs.
