Virginia Nelson accepted the spectrum of clients — from victims of financial misfortune, to the mentally ill, to substance abusers.

But when her daughter came through the door, the harsh reality of her position set in.

As executive director of the Samaritan Center, Nelson gave Heather food, clean clothes, job leads and offered rooms for her to live in, just as she had for the hundreds of other homeless people who passed through the center’s doors. But the 32-year-old mother still cut ties with her family.

That was two years ago.

As her daughter struggled with substance abuse and mental illness, Nelson, 62, grappled with clients to get them off the street and into society. Some were grateful and had real breakthroughs. Others spurned any help.

After 13 years of working with the homeless, Nelson stepped down as executive director last month. It wasn’t easy. It will always be strange driving past and not pulling into the driveway on Royal Avenue, she said.

Her colleagues say the term “executive director” doesn’t paint the right picture of what Nelson did, or what her replacement now handles day in and day out. The job description changes minute to minute.

The position is equal parts mother hen, taskmaster and caring friend. Above all else, it requires treating like fellow human beings the men and women who line up at the center’s door at 7 a.m.

On a recent morning, about 15 clients were at the center. Some were eating outside at the picnic tables, others were washing clothes. One man was sitting on a bench in the shade.

“She always makes sure she gets everyone fed and clothed,” said Ralph, a longtime client. “She’s going to be missed by everyone here.”

He also said she solicits enough donations to pay the rent. Nelson has built a vast network of people, businesses, churches and charities who help out.

But Nelson admits progress is slow, although it does happen when people work at it.

While she wore many hats, Nelson saw her most important role as teacher: Showing people options that would help them move back into society, and educating the public about how best to help.

She used the immensely personal story of her daughter’s struggle with bipolar disorder as a lesson for others.

“The most poignant part is that nobody’s infallible to having family members show up here,” Nelson said. “At 32, this is the path she’s (Heather) chosen.”

Heather has a part-time job now but remains homeless. She comes to the center at least once a week.

While she is no longer the head of the center, Nelson will continue to visit with the men and women as a volunteer.

“I can never just walk away from here,” Nelson said. “They are like my family.”

Betty Eskey, 54, is the new executive director. She and Nelson found each other through a mutual friend.

The first interview lasted hours, and Nelson knew she had a like-minded, hard-working replacement. Eskey has a history of helping the needy both in Simi Valley and in Mexico. Thirteen years ago, she started volunteering through a local church to help an orphanage in Tijuana. She travels twice a month to Mexico, where she continues to help the children at Casa Belen Orphanage. She has three daughters who help volunteer there and also at the Samaritan Center.

“I’ve got some big shoes to fill,” Eskey said of Nelson. “She will be missed by a lot of people around here.”

Over the years, Nelson has engineered many changes at the center. There are a computer lab and a laundry facility as well as a telephone that can be used, with permission.

An Eagle Scout troop built an overhang so clients wouldn’t get wet when it rained. There is a front yard that could use a little weeding and landscaping, and, Nelson said, the clients have said they want to spruce it up.

“They take pride and want to help out,” Nelson said.

About 200 people a week visit the center, which is open weekday mornings from 7 to 11 a.m.

Nelson’s been the instrumental connection for hundreds of clients to services offered throughout the county. She’s driven men and women to doctor appointments, found them jobs and housing.

Nelson recalls the story of a man who was happy living in a tent by the Arroyo Simi. He was a regular client at the center, but eventually he moved into transitional housing and has made new friends and is building up responsibility again.

Another man recently applied for a job at Home Depot, but he was petrified about one aspect — the computer system. Nelson went with him and helped him learn the system. He’s now working.

She’s also attended their funerals, sat with their families.

In the last 2 1/2 years, there have been eight deaths among her clients, some from heart failure, others from alcohol or drug overdoses.

There was a death six months ago that haunts her. The woman was diagnosed with acute alcoholism, Nelson said. Her body was found in a park weeks after she died. But the woman had a caring family who attended the service.

“I was so overwhelmed because they were so loving, they were crying,” Nelson said. “Her husband was stroking her hair.”

Nelson worked with grocery stores, restaurants and catering companies who donated food. She worked with counseling and medical centers, and advocated for more mental illness services to be made available countywide.

Nelson also collaborated with city and county officials to address homelessness. There, she gives realistic advice to officials. She has been a part of the Simi Valley Homeless Task Force for years and will continue to sit on the committee, Nelson said.

“There’s a huge level of frustration, when you do as much as she did and know there were some people she could never reach,” said Councilman Glen Becerra, who also sits on the Homeless Task Force. “But she never gave up. She continued to focus her efforts where she could do the most impact.”

“She had a strength when she needed it and compassion when she needed it,” said Councilwoman Barbra Williamson, also a task force member. “Together, it was a rarity you don’t find very often.”

Nelson also helped bring a group of graduate students from CSU Northridge to teach art therapy as well as hold therapy sessions with clients. At first reluctant, now clients embrace the weekly visits. Nelson plans to turn the artwork — some watercolors, some drawings — into note cards.

Nelson and her husband, Ronn Nelson, are caretakers of Strathearn Historical Park & Museum in Simi Valley. There, she plans on taking care of the roses, her three chickens and start to live life without the Samaritan Center.

“It will be hard leaving,” Nelson said. “But I need to step back and find myself again.”