The City Center Transitional Living
The City Center Joins the Rescue Mission Alliance Family
A New Partner, the Same Promise
Rescue Mission Alliance is proud to welcome The City Center into our family. For more than a decade, The City Center has helped homeless families in Ventura County move from crisis into stable, self-sufficient lives. That work continues, unchanged and uninterrupted.
This is a partnership, not a takeover. The City Center's programs, staff, and day-to-day care for families will remain exactly as they are. What changes is what happens behind the scenes.
As part of the Rescue Mission Alliance family, The City Center now draws on shared operational support, so more of its energy and funding can stay focused on residents. Families walking through The City Center's doors will see the same faces, the same care, and the same path forward. Donors and partners will see an organization built to last.
The Same Trusted Leader at the Helm
Jim Duran isn't going anywhere.
A lifelong Ventura resident, Jim has led The City Center through years of measurable, life-changing results, and he continues as Executive Director under this partnership. His vision built the program and his leadership will carry it forward.
Jim came to this work by way of an unlikely path—from the restaurant and senior-living industries to founding a local church and three thriving nonprofits that serve marginalized and under-resourced communities. What unites that journey is a relentless commitment to the people most often overlooked.
For the residents, donors, volunteers, and community partners who have trusted The City Center, Jim's continued leadership is a steady anchor. The partnership with Rescue Mission Alliance strengthens what he has built—it does not replace it. The mission stays the same, and so does the person leading it.
Helping Families Move Beyond Homelessness
The City Center is a transitional living center for homeless families with children in Ventura County, equipping them to rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient, with Christ at the center of all it does.
Housed in a converted 30-room motel in Ventura, the program gives families a safe, stable place to call their own for up to two years. But shelter is only the starting point. Every family works alongside a dedicated care team toward a personalized plan for independence.
Core programs and services include:
- Case management - an individualized roadmap for each family
- Counseling and therapy - addressing the whole person, not just the housing crisis
- Mentoring - guidance from people who walk with families every step of the way
- Financial coaching - including a required savings program that builds a foundation for the future
- Employment assistance - support in finding and keeping stable work
The goal is never a longer stay, it's a permanent exit from homelessness. Families arrive in crisis and leave with the stability, skills, and confidence to stand on their own.
This holistic, family-centered approach to transitional housing has made The City Center a trusted resource in the community, and a model for what's possible when people are met with both dignity and a real path forward.
Stronger Together
Rescue Mission Alliance helps people realize their potential to live beyond their limitations through compassionate presence, personalized services, and a commitment to long-term transformation. The City Center fits naturally within and strengthens that mission.
Across the RMA ecosystem, we meet people at different points on the journey out of homelessness, addiction, domestic violence and human trafficking, and walk alongside them from immediate crisis response to long-term restoration. The City Center adds deep expertise in one of the stages of that journey—transitional housing for families with children.
By joining Rescue Mission Alliance, The City Center both gives and gains:
- It gives a proven, family-focused transitional housing model that complements RMA's broader continuum of care, expanding the alliance's reach to a uniquely vulnerable population.
- It gains the operational backbone—HR, accounting, marketing, and administrative support—that lets a high-performing program flourish.
The result is a complete network of care. A family in crisis is no longer served by a single organization working alone, but by an alliance built to support them at every step, and to support the staff and donors who make that work possible.
Together, we go beyond what any one of us could do on our own.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jim is staying on as the Executive Director, and we are grateful for his continued leadership.
Your gifts stay local. Every dollar you choose to invest in The City Center will continue to directly fund the local programs you have always supported.
Our commitment to serving families in crisis is stronger than ever. Nothing will change for residents.
By leaning into RMA’s administrative infrastructure and 50-plus years of regional expertise, we are freeing up local resources. This means more of your support goes straight into the hands of the families who need it most.
Checks can be sent to PO Box 5545, Oxnard, CA 93031-5545, or you can give digitally using the form below. However, we will still receive any donations sent to the old address.
Yes, you may receive more information about what is going on at The City Center, Rescue Mission Alliance, and the other good things happening around Ventura County.
Yes, we will still have the annual golf tournament and gala. Buy your tickets for the October 2 golf tournament. The annual gala will be in Spring 2027, and we can't wait to see you!
Yes, we continue to use a variety of methodologies, frameworks, and perspectives, all with Christ at the center.
