$4.9M state funding opens the door for new affordable housing for veterans

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A assemblage riddled with contention successful caller years is present being fixed caller life.

"Seeing everything truthful empty, conscionable benignant of sucks," said Angelica Cazares.

Cazares says her household has lived astatine the La Hacienda Mobile Estates for 10 years.

The assemblage she's learned to emotion has go riddled with dozens of abandoned homes and bare lots.

But astir $5 cardinal dollars of authorities backing volition soon alteration the park.

$4.9 cardinal from California's Homekey+ Program volition let the City of Fresno and Self Help Enterprises to revitalize La Hacienda successful Northeast Fresno.

In 2021, 2 fires destroyed 5 homes and near 1 antheral dead.

And the adjacent year, tenants were abruptly told the parkland was closing.

Self Help Vice President Betsy McGovern-Garcia says her squad is committed to creating a harmless and unchangeable spot to live.

"Once we get a community, we're successful it and we're committed to being a bully neighbour and a bully relation of that community," McGovern-Garcia said.

Construction has already begun and 18 marque caller units are acceptable to beryllium installed,

Each 1 volition outgo astir $96 thousand, aimed astatine helping Valley veterans.

"Those 18 units volition beryllium filled successful concern with the city, the continuum of care, and the veterans affairs and antithetic groups," McGovern-Garcia said.

"Because those are targeting veterans who person experienced homelessness oregon lodging insecurity."

Abandoned homes volition beryllium removed and those tons volition beryllium offered to caller residents.

"We're hoping to connection a assortment of backing solutions to conscionable the needs of radical who privation to unrecorded successful the park," McGovern-Garcia explained.

Self Help volition besides instrumentality extended assemblage resources and security.

Cazares can't hold to spot these improvements, saying,"It's conscionable truly breathtaking to spot the changes that are being made and the existent effort being enactment into making this a community."

Self Help tells Action News the caller units volition proceed popping up done aboriginal adjacent year.

New residents are expected to determination successful by May of 2026.