ONE-STOP HOMELESS CENTERS SOUGHT : ADVOCATES WANT TO FOCUS ON UNDERLYING PROBLEMS.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Advocates for the homeless estimate that some 2,200 men and women live without permanent housing in Ventura County.

Many survive with the aid of a loose network of public and private social service, shelter and food programs that meet immediate needs but have done little to address the underlying problems of homelessness.

The Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition wants to solve that problem by uniting that network through an initiative funded by federal grants. With proper funding the program would expand outreach, create the first transitional housing in the county and offer child care and job training assistance.

``I'd settle anywhere as long as I can have a job and my children,'' said Ed, who spends nights outdoors in Simi Valley with his wife, Alice. The couple's 13-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter are staying with relatives.

The couple, who declined to give their last name, moved from Salt Lake City a month ago. They count on The Samaritan Center in Simi Valley for showers and breakfast, use of telephones and mail service, and occasional counseling.

Ed said transitional housing would give homeless families an even better ``chance to get back on their feet.''

``I'd love to see something like that in this area,'' Ed said. ``We have the motivation of the kids. We don't drink, we don't do drugs, we don't spend our money frivolously. I'd say we have a lot better odds than others.''

The homeless initiative envisioned in the county would build on existing services, which advocates said often don't reach men, women and families soon enough or for the sustained periods needed to turn lives around.

``We are trying to provide a continuum of care which ultimately takes people into permanent housing. There are some who will always have to have supportive services,'' said Kathy Sube, executive director for the Ventura County Homeless and Housing Coalition.

Other agencies involved are the city of Ventura, county Mental Health Services, the county Area Housing Agency, the county Public Housing Authority, Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities.

``There's definitely a new spirit of partnering,'' said Karol Schulkin, the lone homeless services social worker for the county Public Social Services Agency. ``I kind of see it as stirring up hope again among people who have lost hope.''

The network of care begins with expanding outreach efforts dealing with mental illness, drug abuse and employment needs.

Money from the homeless initiative would enable the county's social services agency to establish outreach centers in Simi Valley, Oxnard and Ventura. Rather than having to refer people daily to agencies across the county, the centers would have trained workers from public and private agencies who can provide evaluations and referrals.

``For the first time, we would really be able to create one-stop service centers where we could partner services among a number of agencies and we would be able to work in a case-management style,'' Schulkin explained.

In Simi Valley, for instance, the private, nonprofit Samaritan Center would be expanded to provide counseling and temporary housing assistance services. The center coordinates a winter shelter program, and throughout the year provides showers, breakfast, clothing, laundry facilities, mailboxes, telephones, storage and weekly mental health assistance.

Faced with more than two dozen new homeless adults and children each month, the Samaritan Center's staff doesn't have the time to help them get off the street as soon as possible, said Dianne Hooley, the executive director.

``That's why we are in urgent need for someone to do case management,'' Hooley said.

``We don't want to be enablers,'' she explained. ``The longer they're on the street, the harder it is to turn around. It becomes a way of life.''

The initiative also seeks to create the county's first year-round transitional housing. A 60-bed facility would be established on the county's west end for veterans. A 12-unit apartment building already is planned on Los Robles Road in Thousand Oaks.

``It's incredibly important right now because the need is so great for this type of housing. Most people don't end up on the street - they live in substandard housing,'' said Dan Hardy, director of Many Mansions, the nonprofit corporation that manages 175 housing units reserved for low-income families in Thousand Oaks.

Many Mansions received a $1 million grant last year to buy the Los Robles Road site and build the apartment building. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and should be completed by next summer.

The homeless initiative also would pay for child care and job training to assist families living in those apartments, Hardy said.

``A lot of what's involved is a push. We're going to push the people,'' he noted. ``We're going to have very strict requirements as far as getting a job within a certain time period and becoming self-sufficient.''

The homeless initiative also would provide low-income housing vouchers for men and women suffering from mental illness across the county.

The degree of additional assistance actually provided for the homeless depends on funding administered through the state of California by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. The coalition has applied for a total of $1.56 million.

HUD so far has identified needs for specific areas. Oxnard, which is not part of the coalition, could receive $661,000 or more. Ventura County could receive $629,000 or more.

HUD favors initiatives that rely on partnerships between public and private agencies to provide a continuum of care for the homeless.

``If their application is really competitive and they have proposed eligible projects, they would have a reasonable expectation of receiving grant money,'' said John Garrity, deputy director for the federal Office of Special Needs Assistance Programs. ``They could definitely get much more.''