It takes a lot of people to make this effort a success.
The Salvation Army of Ventura is currently recruiting volunteers to serve as Bell Ringers this holiday season! Shifts are 2 hours long and anyone can participate! We love to have families, kids, groups…anyone at all…volunteer for this program.
It takes a lot of people to make this effort a success, so please join us!
Volunteers are the difference between an empty kettle and one that raises about $30 per hour – enough to provide a family with two bags of groceries.
For more information please contact Lt. Silvia Simoes at 310-308-0691.
Children participating in Kid’s Dash at Annual Haunted Housing Run.
Triad Properties, an affiliated nonprofit management company of the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura (HACSB) hosted their 3rd Annual Haunted Housing Run on Saturday, October 27, at Ventura State Beach. 150 people attended this community event which consisted of a 5k, 10k, and a free Kids Dash.
This year’s event raised $10,000, with proceeds raised directly supporting the HACSB’S Scholarship Program, which provides six scholarships per year to residents of the HACSB’s public housing and affordable housing communities, and participants/household members of the Housing Choice Voucher Program who are attending/will be attending a four-year college/university, community college, or technical/vocational school in the fall.
The Ventura Police K9 Unit and its members were the 2018 Grand Marshals – Officer Keith Therrien with K9 Yoschi and Officer Juan “JC” Rodriguez with K9 Rover, and kicked off the 5k/10k races. $500 of proceeds raised will be donated to the National Police Dog Foundation, directly benefiting K9’s Yoschi and Rover.
Congratulations to this year’s race winners. 10k race winners include: 1st: Jack K. from Camarillo with a winning race time of 39:14, 2nd: Daniel R. of Oxnard and Robert G. of Temecula. 5k race winners include: 1st: Braden H. from Ventura with a winning race time of 18:51, 2nd: Steven N. of Arlington and Nicholas W. of Antelope. There was also a festive costume contest judged by past HACSB scholarship recipients, where favorites included a group of Ghostbusters in the adult category and a Veterinarian in the children’s category.
The Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura is the largest residential landlord in the City of Ventura, with 376 public housing units, more than 1,500 Section 8 vouchers, and over 450 nonprofit affordable rental units. The agency is actively working to increase the supply of affordable housing and to improve the quality of life for many more low-income residents throughout the City of Ventura. Interested in learning more about the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura? www.hacityventura.org.
Join in as Ventura County Library presents “Mixteco: Tu’un Savi, The Language of the Rain,” presented by Silvia Ventura Luna, M.A., at E.P. Foster Library on Saturday, December 1, at 3pm..
The Mixteco language, Tu’un Savi, is an oral language with numerous variants. Mixteco is an indigenous language predominantly from Oaxaca, Mexico; yet, the language has a strong presence in Ventura County and throughout California. This presentation will briefly discuss the Mixtec history, culture and language.
Also enjoy a special dance performance of Baile de China and Baile de Piña, Oaxacan regional dances, presented by children from the El Rio area Mixteco community, who have been practicing their dances weekly through this special Library program.
Ventura County Library is honored to host this event, made possible by funding received from the California Council for the Humanities Library Innovation Lab Grant for the project entitled “Celebrate Mixteco Culture,” and partnerships with MICOP, CSUCI, El Rio NFL, and UCSB.
“Library Innovation Lab: Exploring New Ways of Engaging California’s Immigrant Communities” is a new statewide competitive grant program offered by California Humanities. The program encourages California libraries to develop creative and innovative programs to respond to the needs and circumstances of today’s immigrants and immigrant communities and foster more inclusive communities within our state.
This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact Irma Morales, City Librarian, E.P. Foster Library at (805) 256-4414 or Yvonne Becerra, Library Technician and Grant Coordinator at (805) 701-4315.
The Foster Library is located at 651 East Main St. Hours of service are 10am to 7pm Monday through Thursday, 10am to 5pm Friday and Saturday, and 1pm to 5pm on Sunday.
Typically a ribbon cutting ceremony is to announce the opening of a new business. Photos by Michael Gordon
On Nov. 25, a ribbon cutting was held at the Turning Point Foundation Our Place Safe Haven located at 536 E. Thompson.
Safe Haven is the first stop on the road to recovery for mental health issues and homelessness. This 10 bed shelter provides a safe place to live where basic needs are met and the most vulnerable receive mental health treatment, assistance establishing a stable source of income, and help obtaining transitional housing with the goal of permanent housing. Drop in services include hot meals, showers, laundry facilities, phone messages and mail delivery and case management.
We asked Jason Meek, Executive Director for the Turning Point Foundation “why, after being open for many years did they have a ribbon cutting?”
He answered “Typically a ribbon cutting ceremony is to announce the opening of a new business. So why then would Turning Point have this kind of ceremony for a program that has been in existence since the 90’s? The simple answer is this: It is symbolic. The new renovation provided Turning Point additional capacity to shelter and deliver vital services to our community’s most vulnerable members. It demonstrates that we hear their concerns and are deeply committed to addressing their needs.”
Cast members from Rubicon’s production of Return To The Forbidden Planet and piano artists singing at a Downtown piano.
The idea of putting the pianos downtown was that of Kirby Ward, Rubicon’s new Education and Outreach Director.
The “Keys to Rubicon” piano project was inspired by a similar installation in Denver, CO. That installation has been in place for over a decade now and is one of Kirby and Beverly (the other new Education and Outreach Director) Ward’s favorite parts of touring through Denver.
Beverly stated, “Kirby and I have worked here at Rubicon many times and are always surprised to hear people around town ask, “What’s Rubicon?”. It catches us by surprise. The Company’s been presenting professional theatre in Ventura for 20 years and yet there are still folks who don’t know that we’re here or what we’re trying to achieve. We felt like the pianos are a terrific way to engage people on the street and either remind them of Rubicon’s presence or let them know about the Company for the first time. These pianos grab you on so many levels – visual, auditory, tactile.”
She went on to say, “I found the pianos in a couple of places – on Craigslist as well as through people who heard about the project and reached out to me. The Craigslist “free” section routinely has several free acoustic pianos listed. I contacted a bunch of owners and came up with a list of 5. Then I hired 4 strapping young men, rented a truck and we drove all over Ventura and even up to Santa Barbara to collect the pianos and get them out on the street. It was fun! Hard work, but really fun. Since the initial pianos went out, we’ve had 2 more pianos donated to the cause by The Arc Foundation Thrift Store and The Child Abuse and Neglect Thrift Store. We had to apply for a temporary art installation permit from the City. We requested the pianos be on the street from late August until January 4, 2019 and got approval.”
Beverly met local artists Sarah Flesher and Michelle Nosco at a community meeting for the Ventura Arts Council. It was happenstance but very fortuitous! Michelle enlisted Erin O’Brien to help with her first piano. Both Michelle and Sarah are each painting two pianos.
There are currently three on the street. Two more will be out soon. They are unlocked and available for anyone and everyone to play during day time hours. So, gather some friends and have a sing-a-long.
The pianos will be removed on January 4, 2019. At this point there are no plans to try and save them as the weather will have taken quite a toll. That said, for anyone who falls in love with the artwork, the Rubicon may offer them up to the highest bidder.
From Altrusa Beverly Mueller, Treasurer; Sharon Knapp, President; Angel Golesorkhi, Member and Susan Leonard, Secretary (past President).
Altrusa International of San Buenaventura, Inc. has been a service organization here in Ventura since 1948. It was founded in 1917 and just celebrated 100 years. The focus of their founder, Mamie L. Bass, was literacy; however, Altrusa has also supported and donated many volunteer hours to other endeavors to better our community.
Altrusa is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization where all their services, scholarships and fund-raising projects go to the local community. Altrusa is an acronym. Amity – Loyalty – Talent – Reciprocity – Unity – Service – Achievement.
On Oct. 17, four amazing Altrusa ladies delivered a car load of school supplies to the East side’s Westpark and to Anita Diaz. Even though they purchased most of the supplies at a discounted rate, Altrusa still had to pay for them.
Anita Diaz, Westside Youth Programs Coordinator Westside Community Center, with the wonderful PEAK kids.
Members have been involved in projects for women and men in transitional houses, supported Family to Family in supplying meals to folks who need them, participated in Make a Difference Day, volunteering at the Veterans Home to keep their library in order, make books available to the teens of Santa Paula through the Teen Scene Program at Blanchard Community Library, have read to students on “Cat in the Hat” Day and other projects over the years.
Altrusa International has clubs in eight countries. Altrusa’s mission statement is ”Our country is as great as we, it’s citizens make it. Therefore, we pledge our loyalty to its ideas and its endeavors for the welfare of mankind. We strive to fulfill our civic obligations.”
Altrusa offers to the business and professional people of the community an opportunity to touch each other’s lives and be broadened by an interchange of interests and by a sympathetic consideration of the viewpoints of others. They are always seeking volunteers (and contributions).
Regarding their relationship with Westpark, Susan Leonard stated, “Our partnership with Westpark has existed for nearly twenty years. We started our relationship at the request of one of our members, Margot Martin. Margot was a strong volunteer force in the City of Ventura and was famous for recruiting our club to join her on her journey. The club started our support of the children of Westpark by donating school supplies. Children need “tools” to learn, so this project was a good fit of our club. A few years ago our members gained the renowned title of “the pencil ladies”. Since then we have made other contributions as needed to help the center grow under the direction of Anita Diaz. We have seen the wonderful development and transformations that have taken place over the years. It has been our pleasure to be a small part of this positive place for children.”
About 70 PEAK kids formed a single line as they entered the gym to accept the supplies. As they passed by the row of adults welcoming them, they shook the hands of each (with a few hugs thrown it). PEAK is an after-school partnership that includes the City of Ventura Department of Parks & Recreation, Ventura Unified School District and Ventura Police Activities League (PAL). PEAK was formed in 2002 to develop and implement an inclusive after school program for elementary and middle school children to provide a safe and supervised after-school education, enrichment and recreation programs for students.
Coordinator Anita Diaz told the Breeze, “Altrusa has become very special to Westpark’s after school program. Their support of providing after school homework and art supplies has allowed our children to have materials needed for them to do homework and creative projects. In addition to school supplies, Altrusa has also donated money to our scholarship fund which helps us provide for youths who may not be able to afford some of our sports and camp programs. Altrusa has been a part of Westpark for nearly 20 years and their unselfish support of providing for our children cannot be measured.”
First, there was the rain Friday night. Not something you plan for in Southern California for outdoor events. The NAMI Walk, the group’s biggest fundraiser and celebration of determination and hope, was the next day…
6:30 a.m., Ventura Pier parking lot. There are puddles but the rain has stopped. Trucks, boxes, tables, supplies, and people all pouring in. Volunteers who believe in the cause of de-stigmatizing mental illness and advocating for care. Many have t-shirts with the name of their walking teams and heartfelt sayings about the sorrow and hope for the person, the families, and society at large.
NAMI Mommies (that’s Jill in back row in the middle) walked the walk. Photo by Bernie Goldstein
My group is the “NAMI Mommies” and our t-shirt says, “Providing Support with a Mother’s Love.” We met in a NAMI class for families, and formed out own support group. It really helps to have others for education and emotional assistance.
But back to the Pier, it appears to be chaos but there are a couple of intrepid women with clipboards and maps and it slowly gets sorted out. Areas for organizations, information, snacks, merchandise, and so on are marked off. Tables, many many tables, need to be set up. Portable awnings, chairs, signs…everyone just sort of picks up a job and a couple of helpers. I find myself doing tablecloths with some students from Ventura and Moorpark College – the plastic clothes need to be separated, placed, and taped down. The enthusiasm and energy of the students makes it fun, and it’s interesting to hear why they are here. One young woman wants to start learning about social service agencies and meeting people for networking. Student nurses are learning a lot more than textbook information by interacting with all sorts of folks who have shown up. Family members of the mentally ill want to show their gratitude to NAMI for the free classes, groups and information it gives.
More people show up, some to walk, some to help out, some out of curiosity: “I saw all this activity and want to know what it is about.” Organizations, caregiving companies, social service groups, vendors, all come to claim and set up their spaces. Some of the table and chair setups have to be rearranged, but it all gets done. Within a couple of hours a waterlogged parking lot and a ton of stuff has been transformed into a colorful, functional event. More students show up to work at the booths for registration, team captain pickup, and t-shirt handouts. I hang out with the team captain people, and it’s so much fun to talk to every group leader, ask them who they are and why they are there, comment on their clever team names and sayings, and thank them for coming.
My team shows up; I get my cute t-shirt. There are speeches by officials and participants, and the Walk begins.
The women and their daughters volunteer as a team.
National Charity League, Inc. (NCL) Ventura County Chapter’s Annual Fundraiser will take place on Sunday, November 11th, from 12 -4pm. There is just one detail that is missing…the location!
The NCL Inc. Ventura County Chapter’s 2018-19 President, Soraya Thenoz, who grew up in the Provence region in the south of France, is the inspiration behind “Fete en Blanc” (Party in White) as this year’s fundraising theme.
As with tradition, the location will not be divulged to the invitees until the morning of the event. And all must be elegantly attired in white! Historically, the invited guests arrive to an outdoor setting, with their own food and table set-up; and simply enjoy their time together. And then, at the close of the gathering, each guest packs up what they brought and nothing is left behind…not a trace of what transpired…that is, other than the lingering memories.
“There will be some variations to the logistics of our event” explained Soraya. “For instance, our fundraising committee will coordinate the tables and the food. But for sure, the focus is on enjoying each other’s company while raising money for the philanthropies which we serve. Oh yes…and we will all be decked out in white!”
Established in Los Angeles in 1925 and incorporated in 1958, the nonprofit has more than 250 chapters in 27 states. The women and their daughters (grades 7th-12th who are referred to as “Ticktockers”) volunteer as a team within the community. The Ventura County Chapter, which is part of District 3, is currently comprised of approximately 100 Patronesses (mothers) and their daughters who reside in Camarillo, Oxnard, Ventura and Ojai.
Some of the 30+ philanthropies that the National Charity League, Inc., Ventura County Chapter serves are Children’s Services Auxiliary, Convalescent Hospitals, Douglas Penfield School, Food Share, Special Olympics and Ventura County Medical Center. 100% of the proceeds from our fundraiser “Fete en Blanc” will directly benefit all of our philanthropies.
In addition to serving the community, the girls partake in monthly meetings and workshops on their own; and elect class officers in each grade level. The classes are usually much smaller than in their own schools, thus providing a more enriching and nurturing environment to grow leadership skills. An atmosphere of women empowering young women to be strong and compassionate leaders in the community!
Our 2018-19 Membership Drive is now open to mothers with daughters who are currently in 6th, 7th and 8th grades. For inquiries about joining, please email [email protected].
At long last… the wait is over. The Ventura Botanical Gardens (VBG) recently announced its grand reopening date scheduled for Saturday, November 3. The Gardens have been closed nearly one year, since December 5, 2017, due to the widespread damage caused by the Thomas Fire. The fire swept through the entire 109 acres of the park; very few plants were spared.
Now nearly a year later, many of the original plants are showing signs of recovery, and many new specimens have been planted. During the closure, many changes have taken place. Fire-damaged walkways were repaired or rebuilt. A new hand hewn rock staircase is now in place near the entrance of the Chilean Gardens, and the long-awaited Merewether Welcome Center will open. Funded through the generosity of Mike and Loretta Merewether and designed by architect Martha Picciotti with work donated by Matt Roberts of Quality Containers, the Center will include a check-in kiosk, an information center, educational space, a stage, a community gathering area, storage and a much-needed restroom. The Gardens now have roughly 2,000 plants in the collection.
A morning event is planned including a ribbon cutting with Deputy Mayor, Matt LaVere, and a Welcome Center dedication. At noon, the Gardens will be open to the public, with garden walks by local tour guide Lorie McWhirter, and nature talks from garden experts.
“We are so excited about re-opening the Gardens,” states Barbara Brown, VBG President, who also lost her home in the Thomas Fire. “This will be a very bright moment for a community that has struggled through a very difficult year. It means so much to all of us, that this iconic community place will reopen.”
She continues, “We’ll also be opening the new Fynbos Gardens as well, highlighting the flora of the Cape of South Africa. It seems fitting that this Garden be inaugurated in the aftermath of the Thomas Fire because plants in the Cape of South Africa have a life cycle in which fire plays a critical role. For many, smoke is required for seeds to germinate.”
The Fynbos Garden has been planted with a multitude of the protea and ericas — two of the more exotic and showy South African flowering displays. The bridge and dry creek bed work that began before the fire, is also complete.
“With the regrowth and expanded plantings needed after the Thomas fire, it has become clear that ongoing financial sustainability is critical for the maintenance, operation and expansion of the Gardens,” said Joe Cahill, Executive Director. “We are implementing a membership fee, but we want visitors to enjoy the Gardens affordably, so we’ve kept the annual fee to $45 per year, less than a cup of coffee a day, or for those who aren’t members, $7 per day. And, children 18 and under, are always free.” For those who can’t afford the low annual membership, EBT cards will be accepted.
On Tuesdays, the Gardens are free for everyone. Monthly scheduled guided tours are also free. Additionally, the Gardens plan to be free on most major holidays with the exception of July 4. The new hours are from 9am to 5pm, with possible extended hours in the future. The upper gardens above Summit Drive remain free to the public. Dogs are welcome on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Located at Grant Park the Ventura Botanical Gardens’ goals include encouraging visitors to strengthen their connection to nature. To find out more, visit www.VenturaBotanicalGardens.com and Facebook.
The Ventura Botanical Gardens (VBG) is located at 567 S. Poli St. behind city hall. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to creating a botanical garden for the twenty-first century celebrating the Mediterranean climate regions. The setting is a world-class site with spectacular 180-degree views of the California coast and the Channel Islands. VBG will continue to create new outdoor opportunities including for training, research, and educational programs ranging from horticulture and botany to sustainability.
Jetta Zellner and Victoria Troshina in a quite area that was painted by Victoria .
by Jennifer Tipton
While the official grand reopening date remains to be announced, as of October 16th, Vista Del Mar began admitting patients. 55 of the previous 87 beds are now available after much hard work from the dedicated staff, the fire department and Armstrong Construction who I’m told, worked so well with other community individuals along with OSHPD (Office of Statewide Planning and Development).
Its taken ten months since the Thomas Fire took much of the private psychiatric hospital from where it has stood at the top of Seneca Street since 2001. Delays were with the infrastructure, a new water pump and issues requiring lots of testing that often led to other problems and further repairs. Two modular buildings have been added for administration and three of the preexisting buildings have been updated because hospital vacancy offered an opportunity to do so. Two large barren lots stand as a reminder of the fire’s devastation. Plans are to eventually rebuild, “we want to restore the beds we lost”, said Jetta Zellner, Director of Clinical Services.
Vista Del Mar is a private psychiatric hospital that takes private insurance, although some do pay out of pocket.
The timing for bed availability couldn’t be better because at this time of year, suicide risk is more prevalent among adolescents due to school stressors, grades, peer pressure etc… Although beds are assigned to fit the population’s needs, adolescents are separated from the other patients.
In addition to the upgrades, a new program has been implemented called “Expressive Therapy” headed by Victoria Troshina a licensed art therapist. Victoria has worked for Vista Del Mar since 2016 and although there was a recreational therapy department in place before the Thomas Fire, she is “revamping the whole program”. She said that it’s more structural now, “we never did themes before, we just followed a curriculum and social services followed their curriculum, but now we’re on the same page”.
The themes will focus on the phases of care – the crisis phase and the treatment phase. Every day will be a different theme such as identifying triggers, managing thoughts and feelings or boundaries in relationships.
Victoria does an assessment on each patient within the first 24 hours of their admission to determine what recreational activities they enjoy that help them cope. She looks for anything expressive, do they like to walk, paint, read or is it music that would be effective while they’re there? According to Jetta, “not everybody learns in the same way, expressive therapy is a different approach to treatment, it can be visual, verbal or hands on, it definitely helps with patient recovery”.
“A lot of kids say they play the piano, so I’ll bring the electric keyboard”, Victoria smiled, “I try to identify with what they enjoy”. “And some ask for the guitar”, added Jetta, “we have a military program and a lot of our military love to play guitar”. Victoria reports they have a lot of musical instruments and in fact, she had just purchased a brand-new guitar.
Art is another very effective tool and an alternative to verbal communication. “One of the things I’ve noticed is we get a lot of nonverbal, gravely disabled individuals who are in a traumatic state and they’re afraid”, Victoria said, “I’ll sit next to them and do a soft scribble on a piece of paper with a crayon and pass it to them, it’s a way to engage in nonverbal communication, it’s a very scary place when you can’t express yourself”.
Victoria emphasized that there is such a high expectation of what artwork should look like, “we forget it’s the process, not the product, we call it mark making, not art making”. With patient’s consent, some artwork gets displayed but sadly, “old artwork was lost in the fire”.
The staff and their patients aren’t the only ones that have returned to the top of Seneca Street, a family of deer have returned as well. Jetta shares,” they’re back! They love the figs and berries off the trees”. The location and surroundings of Vista Del Mar must certainly enhance the treatment process…
