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2-1-1 Ventura County outlines Fillmore needs; local youth groups urge support for teen services
Summary
Kelly Brown of Interface Children and Family Services told the council 2-1-1 logged 395 Fillmore contacts in 2025 and identified housing, income support and legal services as top needs. Local youth-service providers described after-school programming, a computer-skills grant and ongoing food distributions.
Kelly Brown of Interface Children and Family Services reported to the Fillmore City Council that Ventura County 2-1-1 handled 395 calls or contacts from Fillmore residents in 2025, including 111 first-time callers. Brown said 51 callers were families with children under 5, 18 were at risk of homelessness and 30 were currently homeless when they contacted 2-1-1.
"Our 2-1-1 information and referral line has about 75,000 contacts per year for Ventura County," Brown said, adding that the countywide program handles roughly 300,000 incoming contacts by phone and text annually. She described 2-1-1’s ability to enter the County HMIS (homeless management information system) on behalf of callers to prioritize them for low-income housing and shelter services.
Brown highlighted the program’s CalAIM-related Enhanced Care Management (ECM) screening, which connects Medi‑Cal enrollees to case managers and to services such as the medical-kitchen delivery program that can provide free food deliveries for medically vulnerable residents. She also noted 2-1-1’s role during PSPS (public-safety power shutoff) events through a contract with Southern California Edison to help locate shelter, hotel rooms or food delivery for electricity‑dependent callers.
Local nonprofit leaders followed with public comments describing youth services in Fillmore. Gabe Candelario, juvenile justice programs manager at 1 Step (as shown in the transcript), said the Next Step evening program provides mentoring, hot meals, transportation and individualized case management for youth referred through Ventura County probation.
Hector Magana, teen-center manager at the same organization, described an after‑school wellness center that serves ages 13–19, operates Monday–Friday from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., and recently ran a grant-funded basic computer-skills course with 40 participants. "Those who completed the class received a Chromebook to take home," Magana said.
Pedro Chavez, identified in remarks as executive director of 1 Step, said the group served more than 6,600 people from about 1,800 households last year and runs a twice-monthly food pantry that normally serves about 125–140 families per distribution. He asked the city to promote food distribution dates via the city’s communications channels.
The council did not take formal action on the presentation; members asked for follow-up information and expressed support for outreach and volunteer needs identified by 2-1-1.
