A lease agreement between the county and a local non profit is going to preserve Thousand Oaks’ “Under One Roof” Human Services Center, allowing 10 charities to stay in one place near the people who need them.
The charities have been at risk since the Social Security Administration decided to relocate, Community Conscience, the nonprofit that owns and operates the building at 80 E. Hillcrest Drive, learned through the city last year that the federal government was moving out after two decades as the building’s main tenant, said Dee Crawford, president of Community Conscience.
On September 21, the Board of Supervisors approved leasing the 6,800-square-foot space that Social Security is vacating for use by its Human Services Agency.
Supervisor Linda Parks said the agreement will “provide a portal of county services for residents of Thousand Oaks and increase partnerships between agencies at a time when more people are needing assistance.”
Services to be offered when the county moves in early next year will include Cal WORKs, food stamps and Medi-Cal.
Crawford called the agency a “perfect fit” for the building. “they serve exactly the same clients our charities do,” she said. The building was built to provide service to needy people so they would have one place to go to get help.”
As was the case with the Social Security office, the money from the county lease will pay the rent at “Under One Roof” so the non profit groups do not have to pay to. All they are required to do is pay for utilities.
The cost of operating the building is also paid for with money raised at Community Conscience’s annual Mardi Gras Ball held in February.
Community Conscience will soon announce which charity will take the place of Catholic Charities, a group that recently moved out of “Under One Roof,” Crawford said.
excerpts from an article by Nancy Needham of the Thousand Oaks Acorn newspaper