by Benjamin Unseth, Executive Director of Project Understanding
Where is Project Understanding? For 39 years, Project Understanding served needy neighbors in downtown Ventura or along Ventura Avenue. On May 23, Project Understanding re-opened First Step Center and Food Pantry at 2734 Johnson Drive, Suite E, in East Ventura. We have moved for the sake of mission as we offer food, housing and education to give people a hand up, not a handout. We will better transform lives and community by reuniting the Food Pantry and First Step Center, by expanding the footprint of Homeless 2 Home, and by centering client services for western Ventura County.
Our downtown offices created difficulties for clients because the Food Pantry was across town. Each month almost 300 families came to First Step Center to be interviewed before going to Food Pantry. Reuniting these services enables Project Understanding to better serve clients in transforming their lives.
By moving to Johnson Drive, Project Understanding greatly expands the footprint of Homeless 2 Home (H2H) services. Locating on Johnson Drive is strategic placement to work among the largest un-serviced concentration of homeless neighbors in Ventura.
The H2H collaboration in Ventura by Project Understanding and partners has helped create a dramatic drop in the annual homeless count. In 2012, the census counted 700 homeless neighbors in Ventura and only 300 in 2016!
The primary partners in H2H have been three downtown organizations, Project Understanding, Salvation Army and Turning Point Foundation. Because the largest concentration of homeless neighbors is in the downtown region, this has been the best location. However, the second-largest concentration of homeless neighbors in Ventura is the Johnson Drive area, where there have not been H2H services. Project’s relocation allows us to bring social services to this very needy area, including the Santa Clara river bottom, Victoria Avenue, Montalvo, Johnson Drive, East Ventura, Saticoy and Cabrillo Village.
In Downtown and in Ventura’s West End, Project Understanding was highly accessible for Ventura but not for other cities. Now Project is 10 minutes from downtown Ventura, Oxnard or Camarillo, and only 13 minutes from downtown Santa Paula. Gold Coast’s Route 6 bus stops right by our offices. This geographical imprint mirrors our Tutoring Centers, which are in Ventura, Saticoy, Oxnard, El Rio and Santa Paula.
Project Understanding is now ideally situated to serve needy neighbors from all over western Ventura County. Come if you need help, or if you want to learn about serving as a volunteer.
