Elgin Goodwin speaks with MB Hanrahan about Khepera House, an affordable addiction treatment center for recovery.
Organization Overview: Founded as a nonprofit in 1981, Khepera House provides a full spectrum of addiction and mental health services across Ventura, including detox, residential treatment, sober living homes, outpatient care, jail outreach, and street outreach.
Core Needs of the Unhoused: Goodwin highlights that the greatest need for unhoused and marginalized individuals is patience and trust-building. Homelessness and addiction stem from complex underlying issues like trauma, so short-term fixes or single policy changes are insufficient.
Challenging Common Stigmas: Goodwin debunks the belief that individuals “choose” or “want” to remain unhoused, emphasizing that fear, trauma, and lack of support hold people back. When provided with consistent resources and compassion, many successfully rehabilitate.
Street Outreach Hub (“The Landing”): What began as handing out donuts to people on the downtown bike path has evolved into a weekly multi-agency hub offering hot meals, veterinary supplies, and medical care every Tuesday morning. This initiative successfully transitions 1–2 individuals out of the local river bottom encampments into housing every week.
Regional & Public Challenges: Being a coastal tourist community near Los Angeles County presents unique struggles, as people are often displaced into Ventura without local health coverage or support systems. Community reactions range from strong support and volunteerism to public opposition regarding permits and parking.
Funding & Expansion Priorities: Primarily funded through Ventura County Behavioral Health and federal taxpayer dollars, Goodwin states that if given unlimited funding, the priority would be expanding physical bed capacity and service volume to meet the overwhelming local demand.
TV broadcast week beginning 09/20/26
Producer: George Alger
Sponsor: NONPROFIT FIRE, Google Ad Grants Community Building NonProfitFire.org
Sponsor: SKYWORKS MARKETING, Performance Advertising SkyworksMarketing.com