County pairs veteran housing with on-site support services to speed self-sufficiency

Key Takeaways

John Davis had been living in his car for over two and a half years, moving from campsite to campsite every 14 days, when his engine light came on. Unsure where to turn, Davis — who served more than 20 years in the Navy — called the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which connected him to temporary housing.

After a year of living in a veterans’ transition home, Davis got connected to Liberty Lane, a San Bernardino County, Calif., apartment community for veterans and their families experiencing homelessness.

Davis moved into Liberty Lane soon after the community opened in December 2025. It’s given him long-term housing security, in addition to on-site access to supportive services, including counseling, career development and mental health services.

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San Bernardino County’s Liberty Lane Development Partnership won a 2026 NACo Achievement Award as Best in Category for Community and Economic Development.

“Being here at Liberty Lane, you feel like you’re building a home atmosphere,” Davis said. “Being around other people who have experienced some of the things that you have experienced, it’s inspiring, and it makes you feel good to be able to look and think about where you was and where you are now, and it gives you a bright outlook on your future.

“It makes you feel motivated to be in this kind of atmosphere, knowing that there are folks who are willing to provide services to help you stay focused on what you should be doing.”

Davis periodically meets with a Veterans Affairs counselor on-site, and it’s been “really helpful” to have such accessible supportive services, he noted.

“Liberty Lane has really brightened my future up,” Davis said. “At one time, I wasn’t able to get an apartment because of the traditional way that most places require … you have to have a deposit and first month’s rent.

“I couldn’t afford that because I didn’t have any money saved up and I was living paycheck to paycheck, but Liberty Lane made it manageable because they’re helping you do that, along with [offering] other programs.”

Co-locating supportive services with housing on the campus helps the veterans become more self-sufficient more quickly, according to Derek Armstrong, San Bernardino County Community Development and Housing’s deputy executive.

“What we’ve seen and what we’re trying to do as a county overall is really to focus on the care continuum,” Armstrong said. “However, a person enters that care continuum — whether they’re homeless, substance users, whether they’re justice-involved — they all start at different places and have different needs.

“So, trying to find that pathway to get them from where they’re at, their vulnerable state, to becoming stabilized, developing individual plans to either get them workforce training, mental health services, gainful employment and then get them to stable situations so that they can then be moved to something that’s self-supportive and permanent … is a huge focus for the county.”

The housing project cost $51.5 million. San Bernardino County contributed over $5 million through U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development HOME Investment Partnerships Program funding and county housing asset funds and was able to leverage nearly $32 million in additional federal and state resources.

Armstrong himself served five years in the Marine Corps and said it’s been rewarding to be a part of the county’s efforts to better support veterans.

“Many veterans struggle with a variety of issues, whether it’s PTSD or they have traumatic brain injury or they’ve had other serious issues,” Armstrong said. “And it’s always good to get back to that community and ensure that those that are sacrificing for us are taken care of as well.”

For counties looking to adopt a similar model, patience and partnership are key, according to Armstrong. Coordination in funding, services and policy was essential in making Liberty Lane possible, he noted.

The site of the development is owned by the oldest African American Baptist church in Redlands, Calif., which led efforts to transform the land into housing. San Bernardino County Community Development and Housing worked with the Department of Behavioral Health, the Housing Authority of the County of San Bernardino and veteran service providers to bring the concept to life.

“This type of housing is making a difference by getting people back on their feet and providing them certainty, and also a place of home,” Armstrong said. “And that’s been a big thing for a lot of people is that people are struggling; they don’t feel like they have a place where they can call home, so this really helps create some pride for them and helps them get on their feet a little bit more.”