VENTURA : Event Celebrates Center’s Renovation

A ceremony celebrating the upcoming renovation of the Turning Point Foundation’s center providing permanent housing, emergency shelter and support services for the homeless mentally ill will be held today at 536 E. Thompson Blvd. in Ventura.

The public is invited to the 10:30 a.m. event, which will feature Wendy Greuel, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s field operations officer for Southern California, county Supervisor Susan K. Lacey and Ventura Mayor Tom Buford.

Turning Point officials used about $687,000 in grants from HUD and the city of Ventura to buy the East Thompson Boulevard building about two years ago and for renovation and five years of operation.

Turning Point’s administrative offices, employment program and self-help project will be moved from the building’s second floor to the first floor. Permanent housing for nine homeless mentally ill people will be built on the second floor, and a shelter will also be operated in the building.

At noon, Greuel will also speak at a luncheon at the Tower Club in Oxnard about changes at HUD and how they will affect Ventura County funding in the nonprofit sector. The cost is $15.

For more information about either event, call Turning Point at 652-0596.