FRENCH CAMP, Calif. — Army veteran Alex Berrera, 65, has fought a life-long struggle with addiction.
"I was using methamphetamine," Berrera told ABC10.
In September, the former surveillance radar crewman found himself homeless for the first time ever.
"Living out in the streets. It's starting to get cold. I wouldn't want to be there," Berrera said
It's estimated about 140 veterans are homeless in San Joaquin County. Some suffer from mental illness, drug and alcohol addiction, and more. But, a new project specifically for homeless veterans will soon start construction thanks to $27 million in State Veteran Housing and Homelessness Prevention funds.
It's the first time the county has ever been awarded the money from the program. The project, called Victory Gardens, will be built on 2.5 acres of vacant county land in French Camp on West Mathews Road.
"There's a geographic hole in San Joaquin County serving homeless veterans. There are projects in Sacramento. There are projects in Fresno and there are projects in the Bay Area. But, we don't have anything of this scale for permanent supportive housing exclusively for veterans," said Peter Ragsdale, executive director of the Housing Authority of the County of San Joaquin.
The project will provide 49 affordable housing units along with a community garden, a common area for socializing, and a computer room. And it's just a quarter-mile from the new VA Clinic under construction near the San Joaquin General Hospital.
"Services on-site so the VA is our partner as a case manager, so there is service delivery on the property," Ragsdale said.
Berrera said he's been clean for nearly two months. He has a place to stay for now at the non-profit Dignity's Alcove on South California Street in Downtown Stockton, which provides transitional housing and a number of services for homeless veterans. His goal is to reconnect with his family and have a place of his own.
"A lot of them that's all they want is to just to have a home," Berrera said.
The project is targeted for completion in the fall of 2022.
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