Help's Oak Tree House Closing

Move designed to save $200,000 a year

By Sondra Murphy
In an effort to put its nonprofit organization on a firmer financial path, Help of Ojai has announced that it will temporarily close Oak Tree House, its adult day activity center. Help hopes the change will also help improve the delivery and quality of services offered to the community.
Because few people use the day activity center, executive director J.R. Jones is confident that families will be impacted as little as possible by bringing day clients over to Little House for activities.
“Our main concern here was the clients,” said Jones. “With 14 enrolled currently, I know we can integrate them, at least partly, at Little House.” With the day activity center suspended, Jones plans to move the Community Assistance Program offices to the Oak Tree House facility, eliminating the need to lease the Fox Street site for C.A.P.
“We’re looking at this as a temporary situation,” Jones said about day activities. Help plans to begin training volunteers for home visits so families that currently use Oak Tree House will have assistance available to allow caregivers time for necessary errands and appointments. Jones also hopes to re-establish an adult day activity center at its West Campus location some time in the near future.
“As difficult as these steps may be, Help no longer has the option of ‘business as usual,’” said Jones. “We have seen a steady decline in our cash reserve over the last two years and there are only two ways to reverse it. First, cut costs and, second, raise more money. We are dedicated to doing both.” The organization points to increased cost of food for its nutrition program and fuel for its transportation program as contributing to the financial challenges.
Jones said that the temporary closure and C.A.P. relocation will save the organization about $200,000 this year. Three full-time and two part-time administrative staff members will be laid off with the restructuring.
The changes will not completely solve Help’s financial struggles. The organization’s spending has exceeded its $1.5 million budget for over a year, and taking most of the reserves. Help plans to increase efforts to raise money and seek additional funding through government and foundation grants, in addition to launching a community awareness campaign to encourage greater individual giving.
“I imagine most people think Help of Ojai is government-funded, but, in fact, only approximately 20 percent of our funding comes from government sources.” Help services that benefit many in the valley — such as C.A.P., hospice, home-delivered meals for homebound seniors, bereavement counseling for youth and transportation — are primarily funded by individual and community donations.
Jones said that efforts will be made to make Help programs more self-sustaining and increase revenues from its Second Helpings Thrift Store.
“We have a serious challenge in raising the public’s understanding of how important Help of Ojai is to them,” said Jones. “People who know about Help and the services we provide are strong supporters, but too many valley residents are only dimly aware of what we do and how many people benefit from our services. We must correct that.”
In order to reopen an adult day activity center, an analysis will be made of the $45 per-day fee, as well as staffing and client-base issues. Jones is optimistic that the adult day activity center and other programs will be set up at the West Campus by the middle of this year. “The organization is only beginning to realize the potential of its new Baldwin Road facility,” said Jones. “We believe the potential benefits to the Ojai Valley there are huge.”
Jones is taking steps to reorganize the board or directors into two separate bodies. The first will be a governing board of seven to nine members and the second, an advisory board of up to 20 community representatives. The governing board responsibilities will include raising funds, while the advisory board is intended to work with Jones and staff to improve day-to-day operations and promote greater public awareness. “We think this arrangement will result in a stronger donation base in the community for the organization,” said Jones.
Meanwhile, Help will continue providing all 12 major programs and a variety of services to its elderly and special needs clientele and look to hire a new fund-raiser. “Help is the only resource available to many of the disadvantaged in the Ojai Valley and it’s our obligation to keep them going,” said Jones of the 40-year-old agency. “Making these economies will cause pain, I’m sure, but they are necessary if Help is to carry on its work.”