A homeless shelter in Ventura County facing a major financial crisis has received a reprieve, thanks in part to KCLU listeners.
It’s a story we first told you about last month. After losing its grant writer, Santa Paula’s non-profit Harvard Shelter was facing a $280,000 financial gap from June through September. The shelter is a grass roots non-profit organization which provides space for homeless people from the Santa Paula, Fillmore, and Piru areas.
But, after hearing the story on KCLU, the shelter has received a flood of support from the community. The shelter received a number of checks from people who heard the story, and wanted to help. A Ventura family made a financial pledge to help the converted restaurant and nightclub make more needed physical improvements. And, two people with grant writing experience have offered to help.
Kay Wilson-Bolton is the unpaid volunteer director of the shelter. "It's been reaffirming to me about how much people care about this particular issue," she said.
She said there’s more. Wilson-Bolton said Democratic State Assemblyman Steve Bennett, who secured a grant in the past to improve the facility, has been helping to try to secure ongoing government support.
She said the cities of Santa Paula and Fillmore are now working with Ventura County to help. Wilson-Bolton said Santa Paula is helping the shelter develop a budget plan. And, she said the county has agreed to match funding provided by the two cities.
The effort started a few years ago, when a homeless man was found dead in a church during the Christmas holidays. Wilson-Bolton helped start a meal program, which turned into an emergency shelter program known as the Spirit of Santa Paula.
She's a real estate agent, and when she sold a closed restaurant and nightclub to an investor, she asked about renting it for use as a permanent homeless shelter. The investor offered the use of the building for free, and a few months later donated it to the non-profit.
But, they still need to raise another $140,000 to keep operating from July 15 through September 15. That’s when other already committed funding becomes available to keep the shelter operating. The Harvard Boulevard facility has space for 49 people, but is always at capacity.
