Posted by Sandy Warren on Jul 10, 2017
Step Up Ventura is Meeting the Needs
of Ventura's Homeless Children
 
Ready for a sobering statistic? There are 600 homeless children between the ages of 0-5 living in Ventura. That number jumps to 6,000 for the entire County. The mission of Step Up Ventura, as explained by Mary Kerrigan at our regular meeting on Monday, July 10, is to end the cycle of homelessness where it begins - in early childhood.
 
As Outreach Program Coordinator and a Board member of the organization, Mary explained that 85 percent of homeless young children will become homeless adults without the intervention needed to prepare them for education. "Babies' brains from zero to three months grow and develop faster than at any other time in life," said Mary. "The first five years are crucial in anyone's life, but so much more so for homeless children. These are kids that need lots of stability to counter the massive instability of their lives."
 
Step Up Ventura provides a therapeutic program for young homeless children, in partnership with their parents. "They get lots of one-on-one time," said Mary, "time spent reading to them, playing with them, or just holding them." On the organization's horizon is a partnership with Magic Carousel Preschool in Ventura to provide preschool and daycare, 12 hours a day/five days a week for homeless children. In addition to enriching the children academically, the daycare arm of the program will enable parents to work and/or go to school to improve their own living situation.
 
Mary noted that the organization is always looking for volunteers to work with the children on a one-to-one basis. For more information, visit stepupventura.org. Thank you, Mary, for an inspiring look at Step Up Ventura and its much-needed services!