Rescue Mission Alliance in Oxnard decided against the proposed acquisition of homeless shelter Spirit of Santa Paula.
The nine-member nonprofit board voted unanimously Sept. 10 not to take on the shelter, said Todd White, CEO of Rescue Mission Alliance.
“It would be a new product for us, the low-barrier shelter,” White said. “It really, truly was not one thing.”
He said the board determined the acquisition was not the right strategic fit and that the timing was not right.
“I think it would have been great, but from a business perspective, on both sides, it was mutual,” White said. “There was a lot of work to be done.”
The alliance recently acquired The City Center, a Ventura County transitional living center for families with children, and plans
to open a more than 60-bed facility in Oxnard next year for women and children who have experienced human trafficking, he said.
“That’s just a lot of work,” White said.
White said the alliance may reconsider the Santa Paula shelter in the next six to nine months.
“I never say never,” he said.
Kay Wilson-Bolton, volunteer director for the Spirit of Santa Paula, now known as the Harvard Navigation Center, said in a text message that the shelter is “in good shape leadership-wise, and we will continue every good thing we’re doing.”
She said the organization had delayed some decisions for nine months, waiting for a conclusion.
“We do have some strategic things we want to go forward with now that we know they are not interested,” she said. “We’re operating at a high level, continuing with what we do.”
The alliance began serving people experiencing homelessness in 1972 from its first location on Sixth Street in Oxnard, according to its website. It has expanded to include thrift stores and ministries in the Antelope Valley, San Fernando Valley and beyond.
Had the acquisition moved forward, Spirit of Santa Paula would have stopped operating as an independent nonprofit in October, with its programs, staff and vehicles becoming part of Rescue Mission Alliance, Wilson-Bolton said earlier this year.
The cities of Santa Paula and Fillmore and Ventura County fund the shelter.
In June, the Santa Paula City Council approved an agreement extending its contract with Spirit of Santa Paula from July 1 to Oct. 1.
On Sept. 8, the Fillmore City Council approved an agreement to extendits contract from Oct. 1 through Dec. 31 and “authorizes the city managers of Fillmore and Santa Paula, along with the Ventura County Executive Officer, to approve an additional extension of up to three months if necessary to complete the transition” to Rescue Mission Alliance.
Wilson-Bolton said Spirit of Santa Paula plans to seek a three-year funding agreement.
“They were willing to give it to Rescue Mission, so they hopefully will grant that to Spirit,” she said. “It’s been very difficult for any business to operate with only one year’s guaranteed funding.”
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard nonprofit backs away from takeover of Santa Paula shelter
