Making A Difference That Matters
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DIRECTOR’S NOTE
They say that home is where the heart is, but what if your heart is broken? What if your heart is full of sadness, loneliness, and despair? What kind of home is that? For many of our unhoused neighbors, each day is about survival. Each day they are in search of the things that many…
OUTREACH EFFORTS BRING MANY IN NEED, LIKE WILLIAM, TO THE MISSION
After finishing a nearly 20-year prison sentence-serving the first half in San Quintin and the second in Susanville where he trained in wildland firefighting- William wanted to change his life. He had regrets. While he was in prison, his mom had visited. “It was two days before Mother’s Day,” William said. “She looked at me…
VIOLET WORKS THROUGH CHILDHOOD PAIN, REUNITES WITH CHILDREN
Born to a drug addicted mother, Violet was adopted at 5 years old, but after three years, her parents gave up their rights. Violet was adopted again by another couple. “It was not a good experience-a lot like Cinderella’s story,” Violet said. “They had other children that were jealous, they started fostering, and I was…
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
The party might be over but the work continues. As we sweep up the confetti from our 50th anniversary last year, the Ventura County Rescue Mission enters 2023 with anticipation for the next 50 years. Encouraged from stories of the past and bolstered by the extraordinary level of need within our community, we refuse to…
AFTER GRADUATING THE PROGRAM, FRANK TAKES HELM OF KITCHEN AT A SISTER MISSION
Frank has good memories from his childhood, growing up in Oxnard with his parents and two siblings, spending time in the kitchen. “I remember watching my mom cook and helping out when the family got together.” This is when his love for cooking was born. In his 30s, Frank started drinking, and it became so…
MARYANN HITS ROCK BOTTOM AFTER FAMILY DEATHS AND SEEKS HELP FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE
MaryAnn was raised by a single mom alongside her five siblings. Her dad left the family when she was only 7 years old. “My dad chose to live in Mexico instead of with our family,” MaryAnn said. “And that has always affected me.” MaryAnn’s childhood was not easy. She and her siblings were often left…
Ventura County Rescue Mission celebrates with early Thanksgiving meal for patrons
From Santa Paula and Simi Valley to Oxnard and Ventura, the Ventura County Rescue Mission provided hundreds of Thanksgiving meals in recent days to the region’s needy.
On Wednesday, the Oxnard-based nonprofit served plates piled with turkey, mashed potatoes and other fixings to those who live at the shelter and receive services. Dozens of volunteers also helped to plate the food and bring them to the guests.
PROGRAM GIVES MARLON TIME TO DEVELOP RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
After consistent loss, he learns how to cope without using Marlon was raised by a single mom in Oxnard. His mom worked hard to provide for him and his five siblings. “I had an OK childhood,” Marlon shared. “It was hard being in the middle of five brothers. We struggled a lot, but my…
2016 GRADUATE IS STILL EFFECTING CHANGE AS LIGHTHOUSE STAFFER
Rebecca grew up in the Bay area with three siblings and her mom. Life was good, Rebecca said, but she still started smoking and drinking when she was just 14. She had no idea that “trying new things and having fun” would lead to a life of addiction, homelessness, and jail time. At 19, Rebecca…
‘God deserves the credit, and the Lighthouse led me to Him’
Julie can trace back to the time in her life when things took a dark turn. Although her “family was very dysfunctional” and her household was “chaotic from the beginning,” Julie said it was when a relative began to molest her that she was truly shook to the core. She started drinking at 14. “The…
Vito had to ‘lose it all’ to learn to put God first
At a young age, Vito’s parents divorced, and those early years were filled with several moves between Arizona, Nevada, and California. He and his dad finally settled in Gardnerville, Nevada where Vito attended junior high and high school. Drugs and alcohol were not part of his life. He remembers having a “good childhood, not a…
Tommy puts his relapses behind him, commits to permanent change
Tommy Davis and his father were close from the very beginning. When he was 13 years old, he moved with his father from his hometown of Chicago to Portland, Oregon. His parents had divorced several years earlier. “My mom wanted me to be brought up like a man, so she had me move in with…
