By Ventura Breeze Staff –
Family-friendly community welcomes homeless, low-income veterans
U.S.VETS Ventura, in partnership with A Community of Friends (ACOF), welcomes homeless and low-income veterans and their families into 40 new homes, signaling the opening of the city’s only veteran-serving permanent supportive housing development.
Completion of the first phase of the community—which will total 122 homes when complete—opens with one-, two- and three-bedroom homes in east Ventura at 10866 Morning Glory Road. The community serves veterans throughout Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, including the Los Angeles County-adjacent cities of Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley.
“We’re thrilled to meet the needs of our local veterans experiencing homelessness, providing them with stable housing to ensure their security, dignity and well-being,” said Zachary Brooks-Miller, U.S.VETS Ventura program director and Army veteran. “With veterans moving into their homes, our sense of community is growing and we’re helping residents connect to the resources they need.”
Welcoming veterans begins an exciting new chapter along the Central Coast, said Dora Leong Gallo, ACOF president and CEO. “The opening of Ventura Springs underscores our strong commitment to creating and preserving affordable housing options for our veterans,” Gallo said.
ACOF continues to accept applications for homes, which are nestled among community rooms, a fitness center, computer lab, a playground, garden spaces, laundry facilities and outdoor grills. The community includes offices and a conference room, with U.S.VETS providing mental health counseling, family programming, case management, career services, access to transportation and health care coordination with the nearby VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System Ventura Clinic.
In addition to ACOF, U.S.VETS Ventura is working in partnership with multiple agencies to make the development possible, including the city of Ventura, the County of Ventura, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Housing Authority of the City of San Buenaventura, Bank of America, the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, The Home Depot Foundation, The Salvation Army and Gold Coast Veterans. https://acof.org.
ABOUT U.S.VETS
U.S.VETS is the largest non-profit organization with boots on the ground to combat America’s veteran homeless crisis head-on. Its holistic approach delivers intervention and prevention services, including housing, mental health and career programs, and wraparound services. With residential and service sites nationwide, U.S.VETS is uniquely positioned to help veterans and their families successfully transition to civilian life.
ABOUT ACOF
Established in 1988, A Community of Friends (ACOF) is a nonprofit affordable housing developer that specializes in creating permanent supportive housing for individuals and families experiencing homelessness and are impacted by with mental illness. ACOF acts as developer, service provider, and property manager, vertically integrating the three critical components of supportive housing. Currently, ACOF has 47 buildings in its portfolio, located in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties, which provide homes for nearly 2,700 people, including nearly 650 children.
