Today, various officials from public, private and philanthropic organizations held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Antelope Valley Community Family Resource Center (AV CFRC), a new regional service hub.
It is the first of three AV CFRC openings in the Antelope Valley area, with additional centers planned for Palmdale and Lake Los Angeles in the near future.
Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who was instrumental in bringing this center to the region and collaborated with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LACDMH) to donate $1.5 million to support it, spoke of the AV CFRC’s importance.
“Today’s ribbon cutting is a milestone. It’s the culmination of three hard years of work to bring services that will support and strengthen the well-being of children and families,” said Supervisor Barger. “Centers like this one are able to reduce family poverty and parent isolation. They help improve parenting skills and decrease child maltreatment and out-of-home placements. Ultimately, they help children receive the permanency and support they deserve.”
LACDMH’s Director, Dr. Jonathan Sherin, spoke of the AV CFRC’s service approach and model.
“With the myriad challenges that face our families and societies, especially during the pandemic, the recurring memo is that we should take care of each other,” said Dr. Sherin. “These resource centers are a way to empower communities and a way to reset our structure and respond to the community voice and need. The Department of Mental Health has been implementing for a while this model of a community access point, areas where people organically come together, train up, help navigate systems and link people with the resources they need.”
Leaders from important partner agencies who supported Lancaster’s AV CFRC project were also in attendance, including the Children’s Bureau of Southern California, Antelope Valley Partners for Health, First 5 Los Angeles and Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Casey Family Programs and the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation.
The center’s comprehensive portfolio of services will include community outreach, case management, resource navigation support, warm/live linkages to physical and mental health services, workforce development resource, health promotion and advocacy services.
The Lancaster AV CFRC site is located at 44226 10th Street West, Lancaster, CA 93534. It is open Monday through Friday, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. For more information about the center and its programming, call (661) 942-4719.