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SANTA ANA, CA—More attention is being paid to veterans' housing needs, but Orange County needs to identify significant additional resources directed specifically at creating more housing for this population, Jamboree Housing Corp.'s VP marketing and communications Mary Jo Goelzer tells GlobeSt.com. A significant step towards housing Orange County's homeless veterans was recently made by the City of Santa Ana when the City Council approved awarding Jamboree and mental-health service provider Step Up on Second Inc. with 75 Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing project-based vouchers to help finance the development of supportive-housing units for homeless veterans who will also receive employment, healthcare and other special services.

The vouchers were issued to Jamboree by the Santa Ana Housing Authority after a comprehensive review process which led to the selection of the developer team for the Santa Ana Veterans Village, the largest veterans-housing community in Orange County. Along with quality housing, the $24.4-million Veterans Village will be a hub of enriched services and activities provided by a variety of partner agencies to support the veteran residents.

We spoke with Goelzer about the VASH voucher awards and how Orange County is addressing the need for specialized affordable housing such as Veterans Village.