James Glover II / Star staff 5/20/8 VENTURA- Reid Faley of Los Angeles talks with a counselor about trying to get into a V.A. Medical Clinic at the One Stop Homeless Center in Ventura on May 20, 2008. The center which serves as a provider and referral center for homeless veterans has been open for about five months now.

In the four months since Ventura County opened its One Stop Center for the poor and the homeless, about 500 people have walked into a county Public Health Department conference room in Ventura, looking for help.

They've walked out with lunches, soap, socks and referrals to agencies and charities that can give them shelter, food stamps, healthcare, drug treatment and other services.

The One Stop Center, similar to one that exists in Thousand Oaks, has been a resounding success so far, said Rose Elliott, the director of case management with the county Health Care Agency.

The center is open from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Tuesday, and this week, county Supervisor Kathy Long, Elliott and other administrators led an open house and tour of the center in action.

The occasion for the tour was the coming Memorial Day holiday — the county wanted to display the services it offers for military veterans, particularly those with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Navy Capt. Brad Connors, commander of Naval Base Ventura County, was on hand to present a commendation for the county's efforts to treat veterans with PTSD.

"I've been here in Ventura County for 2 1/2 years now, and the one thing that's struck me most is the leadership that this county provides on veterans' support," Connors said.

There are about 55,000 veterans living in Ventura County, and thousands are believed to suffer from PTSD or a related condition, according to some estimates.

Elliott estimated about 15 percent of the One Stop Center's clients have been veterans.

"They like that they're treated with respect and compassion and dignity," Health Care Agency Director Michael Powers said.

Reid Faley, a 59-year-old Vietnam-era Army veteran who lives in Ventura, said he was happy with the referral he received to a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical clinic. When he lived in Long Beach, he said, there was never a comprehensive spot like the One Stop Center.

"I think this is really good for people who are economically disadvantaged," he said. "I've never been homeless, but I've been poor, and for the homeless guys especially, this is really good."

Most of the center's clients hear about it through word of mouth, Powers said. Catholic Charities also drives people to the One Stop Center from its kitchen on Ventura Avenue.

"We were just shuffling these folks from one agency to another, and we thought we might do it a little better," Powers said.