Progress That Points Out Need

It’s easy to ignore Ventura County’s chronic shortage of housing for the mentally ill--unless you or someone in your family happens to be in need. Or until the next tragedy befalls some troubled person who has been stashed in a cheap motel room for lack of a proper home.

Since the state closed Camarillo State Hospital, local options have been all too few for those unable to live without some degree of assistance.

The dedication last week of the county’s Villa Calleguas apartment complex marks a significant step toward addressing this problem. Villa Calleguas is a cluster of 24 single-bedroom apartments surrounding a barn-like community building, all newly constructed on two acres of the county’s 19-acre Lewis Road property near Camarillo. It shares that site with apartments on a two acre parcel of a 19-acre property that also houses the 30-bed Las Posadas complex for the mentally ill and Casa Pacifica, a 63-bed complex for homeless and emotionally disturbed children.

The units are specially designed to help mentally disabled adults live on their own with limited supervision; one of them will be occupied by a resident manager. Two full-time staff members will teach residents to become self-sufficient in skills such as grocery shopping, cooking, medication management and budgeting.

Ventura County contributed almost $500,000 to the $3-million project, with about 75% of the funding coming from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

It’s an excellent addition to the range of options available for the county’s mentally ill population--and also a reminder of how much need remains. More than 200 people applied for these two dozen spaces; the new residents were selected by lottery. And a recent study showed that the county needs at least 550 more beds to meet the demand. That report suggests adding 50 more shelter beds to the existing 10, 150 more transitional housing beds to the existing 12 and 350 permanent housing beds to the existing 194.

Chief Administrative Officer Harry Hufford has suggested that building and maintaining its own facilities may not be the best way for the county to help house the mentally ill. The joint county / state / federal funding of Villa Calleguas is one alternative. We acknowledge the creative thinking and commitment that went into making Villa Calleguas a reality. And we urge continued efforts to find ways for the rest of Ventura County’s mentally ill residents to live as fully and independently as they are able.