CELEBRATION—Deb Holler, wife of Bob Huber, at the May 5 event announcing the new crisis center championed by her husband. Courtesy photos
A long-envisioned mental health resource for eastern Ventura County will carry the name of the man widely credited with helping it become a reality.
Before a large crowd of family, friends and community members on May 5, officials in Simi Valley marked the future Bob Huber Crisis Stabilization Unit, honoring the former county supervisor’s decades of public service and advocacy for local mental health care.
The recognition follows a unanimous April 14 vote by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to name the six-bed facility after Huber. The item was introduced by District 4 Supervisor Janice Parvin.
“Bob Huber’s commitment to this community spans more than 50 years, and this facility is a lasting reflection of that dedication,” Parvin said, noting his role in securing funding and expanding behavioral health services in East County. Expected to open in 2027, the unit will be created by renovating the county’s existing Substance Use Treatment Services facility at 3150 E. Los Angeles Ave.
Bob Huber Acorn file photo
Funding comes from the American Rescue Plan Act, part of the $164.3 million Ventura County received for pandemic recovery efforts.
The crisis stabilization unit will provide short-term care for people in crisis, offering an alternative to emergency room visits or jail while keeping patients close to home and family.
The project is part of a broader effort to address a major gap in local mental health care. Ventura County currently has just 43 inpatient behavioral health beds — all in West County — and no psychiatric health facility, forcing some residents to travel up to 200 miles for treatment when space is unavailable.
To address that gap, the county is also planning a 16-bed psychiatric health facility, or PHF, next to the CSU at the Simi Valley site. The $35 million, 24-hour secured inpatient center would serve adults with acute psychiatric needs, with stays typically lasting less than two weeks.
Officials said the close proximity of the two facilities will allow for seamless care, with many patients stabilized at the CSU and those needing a higher level of treatment escorted next door to the PHF rather than transported by ambulance out of the area.
CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE—Bob Huber’s sons, Todd Huber (left) and Chris Huber (right) next to a sign naming the soon-to-be-built mental care facility.
“It’s an honor for our city to have this CSU,” said Simi Valley Mayor Dee Dee Cavanaugh. “But to have it named after Bob is even more of a recognition of a great man who has served this community.”
Huber, 83, was unable to attend Tuesday’s ceremony due to health reasons.
His sons, Todd and Chris Huber, reflected on his deep ties to Simi Valley, where the family moved in 1968 and lived near the future CSU site. Also nearby was the Huber family’s mortuary business, which Bob Huber owned and operated.
Todd Huber recalled his father’s early involvement in the community, including serving as the first president of the Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce and coining the phrase “Simi Valley: Gateway to Ventura County.”
Huber went on to become a deputy district attorney and later spent nearly 40 years in private practice. He served on the Ventura County Community College District board from 2004 to 2010, then on the Simi Valley City Council, including four terms as mayor, until 2018 when he became a county supervisor.
Chris Huber said that even after his father retired from the Board of Supervisors in 2022, “he continued his mission to always help people.”
His wife, Deb Holler, said his commitment to mental health was deeply personal. Huber’s mother struggled with mental illness and often had to be taken outside the area for treatment. Huber also served for 20 years as a Superior Court judge handling mental health cases on a pro bono basis.
Holler said he long envisioned a local place where people could receive mental health care close to home.
“This honor means so much to Bob and to our family,” Holler said. “This is Bob’s dream come true.”