Program Summary Tim Miller WCCS

With roots extending to 1975, and the vision of then Supervisor Mike Riley, what was known as River Switchboard began assessing and serving the unmet needs of West County residents.  In the days before dialing 211 for information and referral, people living in the Guerneville, Forestville, River Road Corridor had employment, housing, nutrition and healthcare concerns escalating their personal challenges.  Today, West County Community Services is a one-stop, multi sector agency providing all those support services to all ages.  With a staff of 30, 12 full time and many part time and volunteers, WCCS serves over 2,000 residents at 7 sites with an annual budget of $1.5 million.  

It has 6 core areas:  Employment support, Mental Health Counseling, Youth Diversion, Senior Case Management. Crisis Support and Housing, and Winter Shelter management which serves up to 100 adults.  A strong part of their youth oriented services is Project Success, which promotes empowerment and peer counseling through a professionally supervised volunteer training.

Newly selected Executive Director Tim Miller, former Sunrise Rotarian, delivered an informative history and received a hearty welcome back to Sonoma County after his hiatus to the Philippines where he coordinated Lutheran Relief efforts following Typhoon Haiyan in 2014.