CVC 20th Anniversary Dinner Gala
LONG BEACH, Calif., April 3, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Century Villages at Cabrillo, the Long Beach provider of housing and hope for thousands of homeless individuals and families, will celebrate 20 years of service at a gala dinner on April 12. Three local leaders will be honored for their vision and guidance in the struggle to end homelessness in Los Angeles County.
Former L.A. County Supervisor Don Knabe, former Long Beach Mayor Beverly O'Neill, and banking executive and founding Century Housing Corporation Board member Carrie Hawkins will receive awards for their help in transforming the Villages from a dilapidated Navy shipyard into a thriving community. The event will also honor the contributions of more than 30 partnering nonprofit and government agencies, who each day serve the needs of 1,500 individuals living at The Villages, including veterans, families, individuals, and children.
"At this important milestone in our history, we are excited to celebrate those individuals, organizations and government agencies whose hard work and dedication have played such an important role in our efforts to end homelessness," Brian D'Andrea, CVC president, said. "Against great odds, our partners have shown creativity, passion and tenacity in developing programs and services to lift our clients out of the depths of despair and put them on a path to greater health and well-being. We are truly indebted to them."
Since 1997, The Villages has employed a collaborative model in which many agencies work together to provide affordable child care, physical and mental health care for veterans and families, veteran case management, after-school activities for youth, a family shelter program, transitional housing for veterans, career-enhancement training, and other opportunities for personal development.
This unique approach is reaping positive results. Most recent available data show:
- CVC's monthly cost of housing and supportive services was less than 30 percent of the estimated monthly cost of serving a homeless individual outside of supportive housing.
- Its measure of housing stability — the percentages of residents remaining in permanent housing six months after moving in (99 percent) and a year (91 percent) — topped industry benchmarks of 90 percent and 85 percent, respectively.
- Resident incomes grew more than 7 percent on average, almost double the rate for L.A. County and the United States as a whole.
- At the same time, residents saved substantially on rent, with permanent residents averaging monthly savings of $725 over L.A./Long Beach metro area fair-market rates.
- Pathways to Health, a bold initiative that takes a holistic approach to improving health and well-being, enrolled hundreds of residents in just the first year.
CVC continues to invest in infrastructure to make its campus a vibrant and safe community:
- In November 2017, Anchor Place, a five-story affordable housing development with 120 apartments, extensive open space, and recreational areas, opened, bringing CVC's total number of housing units to more than 800.
- A remodeled Social Hall — a hub of the community — and US VETS Career Center reopened, along with a media center that provides video equipment, state-of-the-art editing bay and access to media training classes.
CVC owes its success, D'Andrea said, in part to the City of Long Beach itself, whose unified approach to addressing the issue has led to a 21 percent decrease in homelessness in the city from 2015 to 2017.
"Our work is not done," D'Andrea said. "But we know that the Villages features the unmistakable qualities of community and home. Ours is a proud, supportive and compassionate community for residents transitioning from some of life's most difficult challenges, and a place where the immediacy of homelessness gives way to the optimism for the future."
Media inquiries and event coverage invited.
CVC 20th Anniversary Dinner Gala
Reception: 5:30 p.m. Dinner and Awards Presentation: 6:30 p.m.
The Loft on Pine
230 Pine Avenue
Long Beach, CA 90802
BACKGROUND
CVC Partnering Agencies
Catholic Charities, PATH Ventures, American Indian Changing Spirits, US VETS, Oasis Community Center, Comprehensive Child Development Services, Los Angeles Habitation House, Project Return Peer Support Network, The Children's Clinic, VA Long Beach Healthcare System (Veterans Village Recovery Center and Primary Care Outpatient Center), Harbor Interfaith Services, Building Healthy Communities, California State University Dominguez Hills, California State University Long Beach, City Heart, City of Long Beach Health and Human Services, Department of Mental Health, Goodwill SOLAC, Housing Authority of the City of Long Beach, Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma, Long Beach Community Action Partnership, Long Beach Police Department, Long Beach Fire Department, Long Beach Time Exchange, Long Beach Unified School District, Mental Health of America Los Angeles, The Rock Club Music Is the Remedy, School on Wheels, St. Mary Medical Center, The Guidance Center, The H.O.P.E. Foundation, University of Southern California, Veterans Yoga Project
ABOUT CVC: On any given night, CVC houses some 1,500 individuals, including more than 650 U.S. veterans. The 27-acre Long Beach campus offers a continuum of housing, ranging from temporary (90 days or fewer), to transitional (up to two years) and permanent supportive. CVC is operated by Century Housing Corporation of Culver City, California, a private 501(c) nonprofit organization. Century was formed in 1995 as the successor agency to the State of California's Century Freeway Housing Program, which was established to create nearly 4,000 units of affordable housing for those displaced by the construction of the 105 (Century) Freeway. In 1997, a 27-acre naval property was conveyed to Century Housing Corp. under the Federal McKinney Act for the benefit of the homeless. By late 1999, The Villages was open and fully operational with all original on-site partners in place, forming a continuum of care for homeless veterans and families, and beginning two decades of growth in services and infrastructure.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION/CURRENT CVC NEWS: centuryvillages.org
SOURCE Century Villages at Cabrillo
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