West County Service Center Opening

Catholic Charities of the East Bay has made a commitment to one of the most vulnerable communities in the Bay Area in a big way. With the opening of the new West County Service Center, CCEB will be better able to provide the continuum of care services that are vital to bringing youth, children and families from crisis to stability to prosperity.

West County Service Center in Richmond

“We’ve been serving Richmond and West Contra Costa County for over thirty years, but after conducting a lot of research and analysis, we realized that we could be doing much more,” explains Chuck Fernandez, Chief Executive Officer of CCEB. “This new service center represents our commitment, and we look forward to being a community partner.”

The new West County Service Center will allow for a wider diversity of programs and partnerships to better serve individuals in the community, as well as provide space for community events. Sebastian Zavala, CCEB’s Chief Program Officer, is especially excited. The 13,500 square foot facility has training rooms, conference rooms, offices and a state-of-the-art computer lab. Once fully operational, CCEB staff will help over 1,000 clients annually with programs including immigration legal services, volunteer income tax assistance (VITA), workforce development, mental health services and housing assistance. “The opening of the West County Service Center is an exciting time for Catholic Charities. The Center will enable us to provide a more holistic level of care to the individuals and families we serve,” said Zavala. “By combining the hard skills and services of workforce training, income tax and legal services with mental health services and restorative justice, we are better prepared to move our clients down the path from crisis to stability and prosperity. This makes a big impact on the communities where they live and work.”

The West County Service Center also represents the beginning of a larger multi-year expansion project for CCEB. “What we want to do is learn as much as we can about our expansion into Richmond and West Contra Costa County, and then duplicate what we’ve learned here.” Fernandez said. “We want to better understand and focus on what we do really well so that we can open a second and third and a fourth service center. Our ultimate goal is to serve the entire diocese, which is Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, and not just a small area.”

As we enter our 8th decade of service, Catholic Charities is thinking big. We encourage you to learn more and get involved.