Oxnard Wellness Center

This innovative program is based on the nationwide movement to integrate peer staff into mental health services demonstrating the importance of self-help and peer programs as a part of mental wellness. Self-help is a valuable part of recovery from mental health and/or drug and alcohol recovery. People who have experienced both sides of the mental health system (“been there, done that”) provide hope, education and direct support among their peers where they can share goals, conquer fears, and celebrate successes.

Our recovery success stories include men and women who have struggled to maintain their mental wellness and/or sobriety, had legal trouble, and/or been homeless. These men and women are able to come to the Wellness Center and participate in and experience the serenity of recovery.

The Wellness Center in Oxnard also has the only tri-lingual, English / Spanish / Mixteco language mental health program in Ventura County, Programa Latino Indigena, catering to the linguistic and cultural needs of a growing population.

The most debilitating health issue within the Latino community is depression, which commonly starts early in life, usually before the age of 25 and leads to decreased productivity, poverty, self-medication, as well as increased morbidity. Many never receive treatment for this illness, mainly due to the poor access to appropriate mental health care. Around 17.7% of Latinos suffer from depression during their lifetimes. Furthermore, if left untreated, mental illness symptoms will tend to get worse with time, which eventually impacts relationships, work and daily life.