Oxnard teen center named after Nordhoff graduate aided by $400K state grant
Nate's Place, a wellness center in Oxnard named after a Nordhoff High School graduate, received a $400,000 state grant even before celebrating its first year in action in February.
The nonprofit aims to help Oxnard and Ventura at-risk teens and young adults, ages 13 to 25, maintain sobriety and mental health. It centers on those from low- and middle-income families but is open to all. The average age is about 16 to 17.
Located at Fisherman's Wharf in the Channel Islands Harbor, the center marked its first anniversary in February.
The grant, awarded in December, was part of $150 million in sate Department of Health Care Services funding awarded to 262 organizations to support mental health and wellness for children, youth and young adults.
For Nate's Place, that funding will go toward programming and payroll for coaches and specialists who work at the center, said Heidi Allison, who opened the nonprofit with her husband, Larry Rhoades.
"We're really excited because our services are so critical that we have that ongoing support," Allison said.
The center currently has seven coaches and 48 people enrolled in its boxing, kayaking, fitness and other programs.
Kaden Skillern, 22, of Ojai, was helping students with kayaking and weightlifting on Tuesday. The certified fitness trainer has been with the center since it opened and helped get its weightlifting equipment.
"I started out doing fitness and then in September I came on as a peer support coach," Skillern said. "I'm just trying to connect with the kids."
The nonprofit is named after Nate Rhodes, who died in a January 2022 car crash in Oxnard at age 21. He was a certified fitness trainer who overcame drug addiction.
Skillern said he went to Topa Topa Elementary School in Ojai with Nate and they were best friends.
"We would do just about everything together, from playing basketball to learning things on the trampoline," he said.
They went to different schools after elementary school and reconnected after high school, Skillern said. He believes his friend would be proud of the wellness center.
"He was super social. He was always helping out other people," Skillern said. "This encapsulates that."
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Nate's Place teen center in Oxnard aided by $400,000 state grant
