Uncategorized

Veterans Garden Therapy Project

February 21, 2013

Read about an incredible garden therapy program at Century Villages at Cabrillo, delivered by the Mokichi Okada Association in conjunction with the VA’s Veterans Village Recovery Center. Click here to learn more about this very special program!

Art Collaboration Brings New Murals to Campus

February 8, 2013

Photo provided by David Perram. Thanks to Leadership Long Beach connections, Westerly School and Century Villages at Cabrillo bring art to the children of the Oasis Community Center and the KaBoom! Playground. Click here to read the story from the LB Post.

Villages featured in CalPlanner Publication

February 7, 2013

Read about our planning efforts to create the Villages at Cabrillo community, featured in a recent CalPlanner publication Thank you to all of our partners who have contributed to development of our community, including The Planning Center, Melendrez, the City of Long Beach, the County of Los Angeles, John Hancock, and Cantwell-Anderson among many others.

WE NEED YOUR HELP THIS HOLIDAY SEASON!

November 21, 2012

The Winter Holidays can be a difficult time of year for the families at the Villages at Cabrillo. Many of our families have recently moved into permanent housing after residing in homeless shelters or living on the streets. Because of this many of our families continue to struggle to make ends meet and most of our families will find it difficult to provide their children with Holiday gifts and dinners. Your donations can help to make sure that all of the families at the Villages of Cabrillo are able to experience a holiday season that is special and meaningful by providing food baskets and holiday presents for the entire family and/or contribute to the site-wide Holiday party. How can you help? Holiday Toy Drives If your company would like to set up its own toy drive at your business location please contact us. Adopt-a-Family An individual or group can choose a family from our list to help provide them with presents for the holidays. CVC will provide you with a brief description of the family, names, ages and sizes and a few items that each member would like for Christmas. Direct Donations You can donate items or make a cash donations directly to the Center or online at:

Volunteers

Donating your time is an important way for us to coordinate and plan events at the Villages at Cabrillo. We desperately need volunteers to help staff our Resident holiday party, sort toys and gifts from the toy drives and put together food baskets for the families.

For more information on how you can help contact Jaylene Westfall at 562.388.8082

or via email at email hidden; JavaScript is required

Another Planning Award!

July 26, 2012

Following up on its receipt of the Social Change and Diversity Award from LA’s APA chapter, CVC was nominated to receive the State version of the award. We were recently notified that CVC has been selected to receive the Planning Achievement Award for Advocacy, Social Change, and Diversity from the State of California APA chapter. The award will be bestowed at the State APA Conference in October in Rancho Mirage. This award, like its local version, is a testament to CVC’s many partners who help to create the human change we seek. Again, CVC would like to thank The Planning Center DC&E for its nomination and ongoing support of our efforts as we carry out our mission to end homelessness.

We need your help! Please consider supporting our Adopt-a-Camper program

May 23, 2012

During the school summer break, many of the residents at the Villages at Cabrillo have few options for their children once school is out. Traditional summer camps cost about $200 a week. For the children at CVC, these camps are unaffordable and out of reach as many of our families are currently homeless or have limited income. CVC is committed to providing our youth with the same opportunity for enrichment programs that other children in the community have access to. With your help CVC plans to offer a 9-week Summer Enrichment Camp to 30 children. Each week the camp will have a different theme that will expose the youth to new experiences. These themes may include: Young Inventors, All Stars Sports Camp, Renaissance Fair, Going Green, Mystery Week, Nutrition and Fitness, Stars and Stripes, Cultural Diversity, and Survivor Camp. CVC is able to offer this comprehensive program Free of Charge to the residents because we sought creative ways to keep costs low. We will utilize our current staff as well as offer paid internships to local college students to help staff the programs and will leverage these resources by working with our community partners to enhance the curriculum with field trips and inviting in guest teachers to lead special workshops and projects with the children. We’ve committed to raising $5,000 by school’s end, June 18, 2012, which will allow 30 children to attend the Oasis Summer Camp! Every dollar raised through the Adopt-A-Camper program will go directly the fund the Oasis Summer Camp staffing and supplies. Your support will help us offer an enriching and fun experience to the children living at the Villages at Cabrillo this summer. Please consider sponsoring a Camper! To learn more or donate, please click here.

Campus Social Hall to be Improved by Volunteer Event: Sign up now!!!

May 1, 2012

On Saturday, May 5, 2012 Century Villages at Cabrillo will host a community volunteer event organized through a collaboration with Rebuilding Together Long Beach and Big Sunday. Volunteers will paint the interior of the campus social hall, an iconic space at the Villages at Cabrillo that was once home to social functions at the former Navy housing site. Today, the Social Hall serves as a gathering space for resident groups and community meetings at Century Villages at Cabrillo, an organization whose mission is to break the cycle of homelessness. Additional volunteers are needed and the volunteer event is open to the public. Please RSVP to Amber Bradshaw at (562) 388-7810.

WHEN: Saturday, May 5, 2012, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm WHERE: 2001 River Avenue Long Beach, California 90810 Directions

Family Shelter I and II Grand Opening

March 23, 2012

On Monday, March 19th, Century Villages at Cabrillo and Catholic Charities of Los Angeles celebrated the long anticipated Grand Opening of the expanded Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence (also known as Family Shelters I and II). The Grand Opening was very well attended and featured the Most Reverend Jose Gomez, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Oscar Solis, Auxiliary Bishop for the Archdiocese San Pedro Region, Suja Lowenthal, Vice Mayor of the City of Long Beach, Sean Rogan, Executive Director of the LA County Community Development Commission, Susan Price, Bureau Manager in the City of Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services, along with other local and State officials, Board members, partner agencies, current and former clients of the Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence, and friends and colleagues. The new shelter complex replaces and expands the existing Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence which has operated at CVC since 1998. The new facility features expanded capacity and more appropriate space for the provision of shelter and supportive services for homeless families, including safe and secure family dwellings, shared recreational play space, a community room, counseling offices, a commercial kitchen, and dining facilities.

The main goal of the Elizabeth Ann Seton Residence is to assist families transition from the crisis of being homeless to the stability of long-term housing. The program emphasizes setting realistic goals and gaining the resources and skills to become self-sufficient. Families stay 45 days in order to access stable housing. The new Family Shelter complex expands CVC’s continuum of supportive housing which fosters self-sufficiency and independence. As families matriculate from the shelter complex, they are eligible for the various transitional or permanent housing opportunities on the CVC campus. Family Shelters I and II are structured as separate and independent projects. With a combined cost of $5.0 million, the Family Shelter projects exhibit a constellation of 7 distinct funding sources, both public and private. CVC and Catholic Charities closed on the omnibus financing package in December 2010, construction began in January 2011, and the shelters were opened in March 2012. This combined project has been more than 8 years in the making, with CVC’s original funding application submitted to HCD in 2004. Click here for a Project Summary. CVC and Catholic Charities would like to thank their capital and service funding partners including Supervisor Don Knabe, the County of Los Angeles Community Development Commission, the State of California Department of Housing & Community Development, the City of Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services, the Weingart Foundation, the Ahmanson Foundation, and the Dan Murphy Foundation. The new development was recently featured in the Long Beach Grunion-Gazette, click here for the article.

The newly formed Villages at Cabrillo Collaborative

February 18, 2012

We are pleased to announce that the Villages at Cabrillo’s “ED group” has been officially recast as the Villages at Cabrillo Collaborative (the “Collaborative” or “VACC”). On Thursday, February 16, 2012 Collaborative officially ratified and signed the Villages at Cabrillo Collaborative Agreement (“VACCA”). The VACCA enshrines the group’s collective aspirations, defines the purpose of the collaborative, establishes the core functions of the collaborative, and clearly identifies the roles, responsibilities and expectations of being a Villages at Cabrillo collaborative member.

This was a truly a watershed moment for the Villages as our Collaboration was renewed nearly 10 years after it initially came into existence. The occasion was the capstone of an 8 month process of facilitated meetings that entailed much passion, emotion, airing of frustrations, clarifications, reconciliation, and acknowledgement that we are united for the same purpose. The day’s festivities were marked by ceremonial signing of the agreement with commemorative pens, photos, and cake.

With the VACCA in place, the Collaborative is poised for a very promising future. In addition to ratifying the VACCA the group also appointed a Steering Committee that will be responsibile for assisting CVC with the responsibility of convening and leading the Collaborative over the next two years. Congratulations to the first VACC Steering Committee Chair: Carina Sass Vice Chair: Greg McCormack Member at large: Nancy Lomibao We are truly grateful to Rene Castro and Patrice Marshall from the California Conference for Equality and Justice (“CCEJ”) for all of their help in this process. And we owe much credit to all of our service provider partners that were present during this process for their energy, honesty, and trust. Watch for an article about this accomplishment in the next Village Anchor, set to be published in early March.

Help Fight Air Pollution at CVC and Adopt-a-Tree!

January 27, 2012

Help Now!!!

We need your help to improve air quality for hundreds of children and residents at the Villages at Cabrillo! With a population of 1,000 residents, CVC is home to more than 400 children who are exposed to air pollution from the surrounding ports (Long Beach and Los Angeles), refineries, freeways, and railyards. Over the years, CVC has sought to address this reality through various health initiatives, including a partnership with the UCLA Breathmobile which provides periodic campus visits to help educate, diagnose, and treat those suffering from respiratory health issues. Our latest and most ambitious effort is to plant close to 200 new trees that will protect and beautify the campus. This landscape barrier will serve as a natural buffer and will help remove particulate matter from the air. Landscape barriers have proven to be effective at improving air quality, especially when developed close to the pollutant source. We need your help to raise $40,000, the remaining cost of this critical project! Every dollar raised through the Adopt-A-Tree program will go directly into the landscape barrier and help to improve outdoor air quality for hundreds of children and residents, both current and future. Please know that your support will be leveraged by other resources that we have raised, including a grant from the Port of Long Beach, support from the City of Long Beach and some corporate support. However, we still have work to do! CVC has committed to the long term maintenance and care of these trees and plans to break ground on the barrier in the Spring of this year. Please donate now! You can also help us by spreading the word to your friends and family. To donate by mail, please make your check out to “Century Villages at Cabrillo” and send to Century Villages at Cabrillo, c/o Adopt-A-Tree, 2001 River Ave., Long Beach, CA 90810. Please note that contributions are tax-deductible. To learn more about the Adopt-A-Tree program and Century Villages at Cabrillo, please visit our website.