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About the Clinic
The Conejo Free Clinic was founded in 1976 and for over thirty
two years has been providing legal and medical services to
those in the community who may, for a variety of reasons,
have no access to care. These are the people who fall through
the cracks they cannot qualify for public services and
yet cannot afford them on their own. These are the uninsured,
the underinsured and the homeless. These are your neighbors,
the people preparing and serving your food, cleaning houses
and offices, watching over children and maintaining gardens.
They are young and old coming from many backgrounds. The Clinic
provides such services as medical clinics, immunization programs,
anonymous HIV counseling and testing and legal help with divorce,
bankruptcy, child custody and other legal issues.
During the last thirty years, California has been at the
center a trend toward consumer-based, community controlled
human services. The free and community clinic movement of
the 1960a has crossed geographic, racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic
lines. These clinics have emerged in response to a belief
that access to health-care was a basic right, and that such
services should be responsive to the special needs of the
communities being served.
Many free and community clinics began as storefront clinics,
dependent on volunteer staff and private contributions for
their survival. Over the years, many of these clinics and
programs have evolved into sophisticated health care delivery
systems operated under the governance of the consumer boards
of directors. Still others, like the Conejo Free Clinic, rely
exclusively on volunteer professionals who offer their medical,
legal and administrative support and the financial support
of individuals within the community.
We have carved out a niche for ourselves in this community;
have become the medical and legal “home” for individuals
in the Conejo Valley who may not have any other access to
services. We have developed a strong reputation for quality
service, active patient advocacy and a strong commitment to
bringing services to needy individuals.
We are proud of the role that we play in our community and
look forward to evolving our operation to stay in step with
the needs that we find as we move forward with our goal of
connecting people with the healthcare and legal services that
they require.
The Conejo Valley is located in the southeastern corner of
Ventura County, bordering with Los Angeles County. The area
served by the Conejo Free Clinic includes Westlake Village,
Thousand Oaks, Newbury Park, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Moorpark
and Fillmore, with some clients coming from as far as Agoura
and Ventura.
Our services are utilized by the working poor, uninsured,
underinsured, unemployed, single parent households and students.
In spite of a commonly held perception that we live in a “well
to do” community, over 100,000 individuals in Ventura
County are without insurance. An additional 17,000 will lose
coverage in 2010 as a result of MediCal budget cuts. Unemployment
has continued to rise in Ventura County since 2001 with the
county ranking 48 of 58 in poverty statistics for the state.
In over thirty years, the demand for the services that we
offer has continued to grow. It is clear that there will ALWAYS
be a need . . . and with the support of caring and dedicated
professionals, we will continue to be a “home”
to those in need of medical and legal services.
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