Oxnard wellness center will honor Nordhoff High grad Nate Rhoades
Weightlifting. Boxing. Guitar playing.
The memory of Nordhoff High School graduate Nate Rhoades will live on with Thursday's grand opening of Nate's Place, a nonprofit wellness and recovery center in Oxnard.
Rhoades, a Nordhoff High School graduate, died in January 2022 in a car crash in Oxnard. The 21-year-old, an Oxnard resident at the time of his death, was a certified fitness trainer who overcame drug addiction.
Nate's parents Heidi Allison, 62, and Larry Rhoades, 78, will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the wellness center at 5 p.m. at 3840 W. Channel Islands Blvd. in Fisherman's Wharf at Channel Islands Harbor.
Nate's friend Emily Ricks, who wrote a song about their friendship, will show her music video "First Friend" at Thursday's opening event. A silent auction is scheduled with proceeds going to the center, along with light snacks and a building tour.
Scattered throughout the building are mementos of Nate including his No. 81 royal blue-and-gold football jersey and photos of him through the years.
The center will close after the ribbon cutting until it officially opens to the public for services on Tuesday.
The facility aims to help Oxnard and Ventura at-risk teens and young adults, age 13 to 25, maintain sobriety and mental health. The nonprofit focuses on those from low- and middle-income families but is open to all.
"We think the concept of this place could be used all over the country because there's a real need for it," said Rhoades, who lived in Ojai for 12 years before the family moved to Oxnard when Nate was a junior.
"We live in Oxnard and there is the most need there," Allison said.
The couple drove Nate to Nordhoff each day from Oxnard because he attended the school and was on the football team, she said.
Starting Tuesday, the center will begin assessing interested participants for peer support recovery and counseling. Recreational activities including weightlifting and boxing, some of Nate's favorite activities. Guitar lessons will also be offered.
Inpatient or detox services will not be provided.
"Someone who is in the middle of opioid addiction...this wouldn't be the right place," Allison said. "They'd get other treatment and come after."
Grants, fundraisers and donations are used to fund the nonprofit center, she said, and the family continues to look for financial donors.
For more information, visit natesplacewellnesscenter.org, email natesplacewellnesscenter@gmail.com or call 805-628-2552.
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard wellness center honoring Nate Rhoades, 21, set to open
