By David M. Smith / President & CEO, United Way of Ventura County
Early next month 2-1-1 Ventura County will begin its seventh year of service to the residents of our county — and what a remarkable service 2-1-1 has been. Started on Feb. 11, 2005 as the first 2-1-1 service in our state, Ventura County’s 2-1-1 center has provided social service support to some 115,000 residents in its six years of operation. While the number in itself is rather amazing, what’s even more amazing is to consider the lack of support for local residents were 2-1-1 not in operation. In fact, the void would be huge.
As has been noted numerous times, 2-1-1 Ventura County is positioned to respond to the needs of local residents because of the tremendous partnership that has been developed in support of 2-1-1. That partnership starts with Interface Children Family Services, which operates the 2-1-1 call center in Camarillo, and includes in no particular order United Way, First 5 Ventura County, the county of Ventura, the County of Ventura Health Care Agency, the County of Ventura Human Services Agency and seven of the county’s 10 cities – Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Port Hueneme and Ojai. Without this demonstration of partnership support 2-1-1 would not exist.
From the outset, 2-1-1 Ventura County has proved to be a model for developing 2-1-1 centers in our state. And, whereas there was only one 2-1-1 operation in the state in February 2005, today there are operations in some 28 California counties, with service in 2011 reaching more than 1 million state residents. Amazing!
On Friday, Feb. 10, our county will celebrate the beginning of year seven with a special 2-1-1 anniversary celebration to take place at the County Office of Education Conference Center, located at 5100 Adolfo Road, Camarillo. The buffet breakfast will begin at 8 a.m., with a cost of $25 to attend. You can RSVP by linking to United Way’s website, www.vcunitedway.org
United Way of Ventura County is proud of its association with 2-1-1, because the service is a clear demonstration of the countywide support UWVC has provided local residents for 67 years. All across our county 2-1-1 is providing a vital service, with 35 percent of the total calls helping Oxnard residents, followed by 21 percent of calls reaching Ventura and just shy of 10 percent of calls each in Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.
In these critical economic times, more than 25 percent of all calls are focused on housing and utility needs, followed by calls in support of mental health and addiction issues, followed closely by calls in support of health care or food needs. Were it not for 2-1-1, who would answer these calls?
“United Way of Ventura County has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in 2-1-1, in order to provide critical support to thousands of local residents,” says Adam Thunell, Vice President/Operations & Chief Operating Officer for Community Memorial Health Systems and chair of UWVC’s board of directors. “Our support is just one of many ways United Way works to advance the common good in our county. We are proud of our association with 2-1-1.”