The City Center Transitional Living

SAYING GOODBYE Just a short four months ago, YOMAYRA RAMIREZ joined The City Center family with her baby, Mya (now 9 months old). She came to us from Tender Life Maternity Home and has worked hard to accomplish her goals. Recently she found a place to live closer to her work and family, who help her with childcare. Yomayra is thankful for this opportunity to spend more time with family, including her 11-year-old daughter, Mariyah, for whom she is still working to gain custo...dy. She is also looking forward to saving money on gas by not having to do so much driving every day. In her brief time with TCC, she has been able to find a full-time job, get off probation, graduate from New Starts for Moms, close her CFS case, get out of debt and save money. She is so grateful to have a place to go, and for the growth she is experiencing in her relationship with God, with help from her mentor, Heather Arenas.

SHOWERS OF BLESSING THANK YOU TO THE CHANNEL ISLANDS GULLS There was an abundant outpouring of practical blessings for our residents on October 15, led by the Channel Islands Gulls, a non-profit organization that has been raising funds for Ventura County charities since 1976. ... Members joined with City Center staff members to collect drive-by donations at three locations, in Ventura, Camarillo and Oxnard. The response was overwhelming: cleaning supplies, personal hygiene items, towels and linens, paper goods, diapers and wipes, and many other essentials filled our pods! President Julia Marshall stated that they love The City Center; and they love seeing the name of their organization by the door of the room they sponsored three years ago. Not only did they organize this drive to collect these essentials for our residents, but they also do several fundraisers throughout the year, the proceeds from which they divide among several non-profits throughout the county. At the same time, they provide social and emotional support to their members, and opportunities for them to volunteer many hours of service to the organizations they support (over 2,000 last year)! A big THANK YOU to all who gave their time to make this event so successful.

FULL CUSTODY GRANTED In early October resident MARISSA YEATON was granted full custody of her two children, Serena (age 6) and Logan (age 2). She is excited to complete this goal at last, to add to her other accomplishments since coming to The City Center just a little over a year ago. In that time, she has maintained stable employment, including a promotion to manager at a local motel. She has reliable transportation, and is working on reducing debt, increasing her credit... score, and saving money regularly on her road to becoming independent. Marissa’s future goal is to complete her college program in business and hospitality management. She is grateful for the opportunity she has been given to participate in The City Center program, which is making it possible to pursue and accomplish her goals for a better life for herself and her children.

GIANNA ONSTOT had some great reflections on the sermon she heard from Trinity Lutheran Church on October 4. The title was Why Fear? and the central theme was Don’t make your feelings or fears a god and worship it (or them). Her application went like this: Even though the world around us is changing, we need to continue to worship God, not the feelings or fear we are having. This message showed me that with the fear or insecurity I have, I have made it my god, over God. I need to work on that. It is not enough to just hear the Word; as Gianna says, and Scripture reminds us, we need to work on doing the Word, allowing it to change us.

SERMON REFLECTIONS FROM RESIDENTS Residents are required to submit notes on the sermons they hear each week when they meet with their case manager. Here are reports and comments from two of our brightest and best! ANDREW LEPORATI gave us these four key points on Pastor Jim Duran’s sermon at The River Church on Revelation and The Things you Never Are. 1) You are NEVER so isolated that God cannot find you. Comforting to know in this time of isolation. ... 2) You are NEVER too bound that God cannot set you free. Andrew adds, No matter what you’ve done in the past, there is an opportunity to turn my life around. I am more than a drug addict, more than a sinner. I’m a child of God. 3) You are NEVER too limited physically. Andrew adds, nor spiritually. I was having a spiritual crisis, and not being my real self. 4) You are NEVER too old. He says, to change. Great observations and expansions on the theme, Andrew!

MENTOR/MENTEE MEET UP Resident RENEE GUILLEM has been patiently waiting to be assigned a mentor, and at last we were able to provide her with one of our new team members, CARRIE YOST. Carrie is one of the people who has been bringing meals to The City Center from Encounter Church and recently was inspired to get more involved by offering to mentor. We are thrilled to have her join us, and already she has attended her first training meeting and brought another prospect to add... to our number as a mentor. Carrie met Renee and heard her story recently when they were introduced by the mentor coordinator. Renee shared how she has been able to get full time employment since coming to The City Center and is working on getting her diploma and job certification through the Ventura County library system. Her long-term goal is to become a teen/youth counselor at either Juvenile Hall or in a school. In the meantime she is progressing in her program and growing spiritually through reading her Bible and devotional daily.

FILMING AT THE CITY CENTER As many of you know, The City Center Transitional Living has been impacted tremendously by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thank God that not one resident or staff member has contracted this horrible virus but the impact financially has hit TCC pretty hard. Since we could not hold our two big events this year (Golf Tournament & Annual Gala), which was budgeted to bring in about a $100,000, the TCC Board of Directors had to come up with a different strateg...y to raise funds. The Board decided to hire a professional filmmaker to create a video that would share the TCC story. Three families were chosen to share their journeys and filming took place this past weekend. The video should be out by mid November. The video will be distributed globally in hopes to obtain the loss revenue. Thank you for your continued support.

MEET THE CITY CENTER BOARD MEMBERS Coral M. Hansen | Managing Director | CBIZ Recovery Services Coral Hanson has been married for almost 20 years and is loved by four children and six grandchildren. She is a lover of animals and has years of experience serving charitable organizations through board membership. Her expertise in accounting is invaluable to The City Center's mission. Coral Hanson believes in paying it forward and being grateful for the friends and family she has.

MOVING FORWARD Resident Amber Favela is not letting circumstances get in her way of making progress toward her goals. When she lost her job recently, in just a few days she found a new one and is making the necessary adjustments. When she is scheduled to go in early, she enlists the aid of her mom for childcare the night before, so that she can get up at 4:00 am and get to work on time. Grandma can then get baby Shai to the Easter Seals early childhood education program wher...e she receives not just babysitting but actual teaching and training pre-preschoolers in developmental skills. This month another support person has been added to her team in the person of a new mentor, who has just joined the ranks of our mentor team. As they develop their mentor-mentee relationship, the mentor will add another level of encouragement and support to that which already includes the onsite staff, therapist, board and community partners. Our residents do not have to walk the path of healing and restoration alone!

COOL KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL SHOPPING SPREE On Saturday, September 26th, The City Center Cool Kids went on our 5th Annual Back to School shopping event at Kohl’s in Ventura. This year’s event was held a little later than previous years due to COVID, however, the children were all excited and ready to shop! ... Within two hours, the children were paired with either their parent/s or a volunteer and shopped for new clothes, socks and shoes! From Batman, fresh prints on skate and surf shirts, bright pink and bedazzled dresses, to the darker, more plain tones the older kids selected -- 16 of our Cool Kids are ready to attend their Zoom classes in style! After braving the long line at Kohl's, everyone headed back to The City Center for a pizza party. A special bonus treat came cruising into the courtyard as the Kona Ice Truck pulled up and served everyone snow-cones! Special thanks to the volunteers who came out to help this year: @Charleen Morla-Garcia,, Olga Hamra, Lisa Marquez, Melissa Szul, Andrew Leporati, Sarah Willard, Marli Sacolles, Melodie Mactal, Francisco Rocha, Shay McDowell and Annette Garcia. A big thanks to all those who donated to the Cool Kids fund, most especially to: Camarillo Community Church, Brian & Kathy Meyer, Jim & Pam Duran, Sandy Fielitz, Alma & Glen Okui, Women of Ventura Moose, the Filipino Community of Ventura County, Inc. and to Candice Alexander - AllState Insurance and Keith & Charleen Morla-Garcia for sponsoring the Kona Ice Truck.

WOULD YOUR CHURCH WANT TO SPONSOR A ROOM? Over the past few years, the following churches have faithfully contributed to the mission of The City Center! Thank you for your partnership in this important, life-changing ministry!... Anthem Church Encounter Church Redemption Church The City Church Coastline Bible Church The River Community Church Mission Church Ventura Community Presbyterian Church Trinity Lutheran Church Ventura Missionary Church Ventura 7th Day Adventist Orchard Community Church Harvest Bible Chapel Ventura **** YOUR CHURCH NAME HERE ****

MEET THE CITY CENTER BOARD MEMBERS Paul Paulin | Retired Insurance Broker Paul is a US Air Force veteran. He was an insurance broker who owned a medium-size agency in Los Angeles. As a broker, Paul was active in local and statewide insurance associations. He is one of the founders of ACORD, now the world-wide common forms provider for the insurance industry. Paul served for ten years as Chair of the California Senate Advisory Commission for Business Insurance. He served on the board of The Insurance Council of the City of Hope for thirty years. He also acted as an expert witness in various state and federal courts for many years. Paul is married to his wife Diane and lives in Port Hueneme.

Reflection of a Mentor - Sandra Meyer & Mentee- Cassie Hilts Mentor Sandra, when asked how mentoring has worked out for her, responded with the following comments: Cassie and myself have mostly been texting and I am trying to encourage her with Bible verses or advice. Phone calls have proven to be challenging because of both of our schedules. We discuss things she is struggling with at City Center and in general. We were able to meet and walk the other day, and we are setti...ng up another time for a walk. I hope that she is learning as much from me as I am learning from her. Her resilience is inspiring. I have never mentored anyone before, and I feel that is a good challenge, trying to see what else I can be of help with for my mentee. Cassie’s response to the question of how mentoring has helped in her journey at The City Center, responded in this way: I have been at The City Center and working with my mentor for seven months now. She did not let social distancing get in the way with our relationship. We recently started taking slow walks together while we chat and drink a coffee which we both really enjoy. My three-year-old Ella likes to go with us to get out for a bit in her stroller. Sandra tells me to just call her anytime for advice when I need it. She sends me spiritually uplifting scriptures and words of encouragement. She has really built me up by telling me things like how proud she is of me and my strength and how she sees that I am very solution-oriented and was impressed by it. Sandra is a sweet, outgoing, compassionate and beautiful lady inside and out." We are grateful for all our mentors, and always have need for more. If you are interested, please contact Mentor Coordinator Barbara Suggs at [email protected] for more information and an application.

CONGRATULATIONS AND FAREWELL Our most recent graduate, Brandi Brown, not only has completed the requirements of the program for graduation but she is also moving on to new responsibilities next door at Tender Life Maternity Home - Ventura. There she will assume the role of Assistant Manager and put her skills to work helping others to meet some of the same challenges she has faced. ... Brandi came to The City Center in 2017 and spent a year working the program. After a year, she decided to leave before graduating and was out on her own for about 12 months. After that time, she realized that she still had some unfinished business to get her life solidly back on track, so she asked for permission to return and complete the program. Now she has become financially solid, paying off debt and getting off all government aid. She has been working successfully in a rehab program as a staff person for several months, and will continue to help as needed there, in addition to working at a recently acquired job in the service industry and caring for her daughter Jamie. Brandi is also continuing to work on getting her GED. Math is a major obstacle, and the only segment she still needs to pass. Any tutors out there who might be able to help? Her long-term goal is to prepare herself as a respiratory therapist.