Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Mental Health Association of Ventura County records
- Dates:
- 1958-1963
- Creators:
- Mental Health Association of Ventura County
- Abstract:
- This collection consists of various records from the Mental Health Association of Ventura County. Most are Health Education Workshop records from 1958-1960. Additional materials include two notebooks; one of publicity on Salk Vaccinations and another of miscellaneous records.
- Extent:
- 1.28 Cubic Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mental Health Association of Ventura County records, (Collection MVC013), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection consists of various records from the Mental Health Association of Ventura County. Most are Health Education Workshop records from 1958-1960. Additional materials include two notebooks; one of publicity on Salk Vaccinations and another of micellaneous records.
- Biographical / historical:
-
This collection provides a partial record of the activities of the Mental Health Association of Ventura County, an affiliate of the National Association for Mental Health. Formed in 1951 (The Ojai in a story of May 4, 1951 refers to "the recently formed Mental Health Association of Ventura County") the Association was active until ca. 1988, when lack of funding forced it to hand over its 22-year-old 24-hour suicide prevention hotline to Interface, another local service organization. Its non-profit status expired the following year.
At its peak of activity in the 1960s, the county-wide non-profit association had a board of almost three dozen community members, drawn primarily from the west county communities of Ventura, Oxnard and Hueneme. Its purpose, as stated in its bylaws, was to "develop a coordinated citizens movement to work toward the improved care and treatment of the mentally ill, for improved methods and research, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental illness, and for the promotion of mental health." The Association played in important role in pioneering mental health education and the development of resources in the county.
In addition to its educational programs, the Association provided volunteer services at Camarillo State Hospital, maintained a rehabilitation fund for hospital patients that needed clothing and transportation for job interviews, and provided a referral service for individuals seeking psychiatric resources. In 1969 it hired its first full-time executive director and opened what it called a social rehabilitation center at 881 E. Main Street in Ventura to serve as a halfway house to care for people recovering from mental illness. The building also housed the Association's offices.
- Acquisition information:
- Donor has not been identified or is not known.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Library Staff, 2011.
- Physical location:
- COLLECTION STORED ON-SITE: Stored at the MVC Research Library. Requests do not have to be made in advance, but researchers MUST make a research appointment on the Research Library website. Research Library website.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
About this collection guide
- Sponsor:
- This finding aid was made possible in part through funding from the County of Ventura and the Heritage Fund at the Ventura County Community Foundation.
- Date Encoded:
- This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2025-09-19 21:11:59 +0000 .
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Open for research. Advance requests can be made to Research Library staff via email.
- Terms of access:
-
Property rights to the physical object belong to the Museum of Ventura County. Literary rights, including copyright, have not been determined. Contact the Research Library for further information: library@venturamuseum.org
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Mental Health Association of Ventura County records, (Collection MVC013), Museum of Ventura County, Research Library, Ventura, California.
- Location of this collection:
-
100 East Main StreetVentura, CA 93001, US
- Contact:
- (805) 653-0323, ext 320