In January 1982, heavy rains drenched the San Lorenzo Valley and the mountains came down. The community responded to the tragedy by forming community groups, helping to bring relief to those whose homes were destroyed. The Valley Women’s Club creates the Valley Emergency Preparedness Project in an effort to organize neighborhoods into self-help groups. These groups identified where vulnerable residents lived and what resources and skills were available to help.

In 1986, The Valley Emergency Preparedness Project joined the Valley Churches United Food Pantry and Santa Cruz County Human Resources Agency’s Information/Referral Program to share office space in Ben Lomond and is renamed Valley Resource Center (VRC).

On October 17, 1989, the earthquake strikes. VRC goes swiftly into action. Within the first month, due to heavy demand, VRC realizes the need for a larger facility. A long-held dream becomes a reality: attracting agencies from Santa Cruz so that local residents need not journey to Santa Cruz to obtain help.

In March 1990, VRC moves into new offices and by April has 12 agencies sharing space and providing services. By 1991, the agency becomes the focus of information and networking for the San Lorenzo Valley/Scotts Valley area and becomes the agency responsible for identifying unmet existing needs in the community. The center develops a strategy for meeting those needs and designs its own programs to meet them.

For the rest of the decade, VRC continues to implement innovative programs and services designed to meet community needs. During this time, the Information & Referral Department is expanded and VRC is funded by the Federal government to assess the earthquake recovery effort. An emergency dental care program for children is established in 1992, a Community Counseling Program in 1993. Family-focused programs such as Linkup to Learning, Together for Families and Healthy Start bring much needed services to Fifth District residents and their children.