Casa Pacifica Centers for Children & Families has received $6.8 million in Project Homekey funding to support the renovation of three residential care buildings at the agency’s Camarillo campus.
The funding will help provide transitional housing for at-risk young adults.
The expansion project is part of California’s Project Homekey, administered by the California Department of Housing and Community Development, to expand housing access through the conversion of vacant hotels, motels and other buildings into both permanent and transitional housing units.
Construction for the Casa Pacifica expansion project will include remodeling three residential care buildings converted to interim housing for young adults and young adults with children. The expansion will provide 27 suites of housing and wrap-around services, available for youth aged 18-25, who are current or former foster youth or who have had prior experience with probation.
Construction will begin this summer.
Casa Pacifica — the largest non-profit provider of mental and behavioral health services for children, adolescents and families in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties — offers housing, mental health and supportive services for young adults who have experienced the foster care/probation system or are at high risk of homelessness.
Funding for the project was a combination of state and private philanthropic donations including the County of Ventura and The William and JoAnne Miller Charitable Trust.
“The ongoing collaboration between Casa Pacifica and the County of Ventura demonstrates our shared commitment to create viable housing solutions for one of the most vulnerable populations in our region,” said Casa Pacifica CEO Shawna Morris in a statement. “This expanded site will make an immediate difference in the lives of at-risk young adults by providing them with service-enriched and supportive housing, including access to critical mental and behavioral health services.”
“Delivering viable options for young adults who are at risk of homelessness, providing therapeutic interventions that they need and putting them on a path for successful, independent living is Casa Pacifica’s goal,” said
According to the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, more than 12,000 unaccompanied young adults have experienced homelessness in California since 2020. In the first four years of aging out of foster care, approximately 20% of former foster youth will experience homelessness.
California Businesses, Consumer Services and Housing Agency Secretary Lourdes Castro Ramirez said that Project Homekey has created 10,000 units of housing for the homeless in the past two years.
“On behalf of the County Board of Supervisors, we are very pleased to hear the news of the successful Project Homekey financial award and are thankful for the tremendous work of Casa Pacifica in expanding service at-risk youth in our communities,” said Dr. Sevet Johnson, County Executive Officer of Ventura. “The planned expansion will help provide additional, and much needed, transitional housing for our young adults experiencing challenges and will greatly help their healing and recovery. We are grateful for the strong partnership that we have with Casa Pacifica and are delighted to be able to provide financial support of this program to serve our community members in some of their most important times of need.”