Sen. Blakespear Presents Check to San Diego County for Housing Serving Veterans
With, from left to right, Eddie Walker, property manager for Quint Apartments; Greggory Bottoni, veteran participating in the program; Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, Chair Pro Tem of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors; and David Estrella, Director of San Diego County Housing and Community Development Services.
SACRAMENTO – Sen. Catherine S. Blakespear, D-Encinitas, on Thursday presented a $1.67 million check to San Diego County to fund a program that provides affordable housing to veterans.
The money will be used for the Homelessness Prevention Landlord Incentive Program, which provides direct payments to landlords to lower rental costs for veterans who qualify for assistance through the Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing (VASH) program. In 2025, the county invested $683,900 in landlord incentives, helping secure housing for 243 veterans.
“The landlord incentive program reduces barriers that keep people from renting an apartment,” Sen. Blakespear said. “Landlords need a security deposit and the assurance that any damage to the unit will be covered, among other things, in order to rent their units. I am thrilled that I was able to secure state funding to support a system for the men and women who have served this country to get quickly into places to live.”
Sen. Blakespear presented the check to San Diego County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, Chair Pro Tem of the Board of Supervisors. Watch the entire press conference here.
"We are incredibly grateful to Senator Blakespear for her leadership in securing this $1.67 million investment for the County of San Diego’s Homeless Prevention Landlord Incentive Program,” Supervisor Aguirre said. “This isn’t just a win for the balance sheet—it’s a lifeline for San Diegans. It is far more humane and fiscally responsible to keep a roof over someone’s head today than to build a shelter bed tomorrow, and this funding allows us to move from reactive crisis management to proactive prevention.”
Any veteran experiencing homelessness, or who is at risk of it, can apply for assistance through the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. Those in San Diego County who qualify are referred to the county’s Housing Authority, which officially issues a VASH voucher.
The voucher works like rental assistance, and the veteran can use the voucher to look for housing on the open rental market, just like any other renter. A VA case manager provides ongoing support, helping the veteran find a unit, work with landlords and complete paperwork.
Once a landlord agrees to rent to the veteran with a VASH voucher, a lease is signed and rental assistance begins. The assistance is paid directly to landlords, not tenants, and can be used for things like leasing bonuses, application fees, security deposits and a landlord assurance fund.
More than 189,000 veterans live in San Diego County, making it the county with the third highest population of veterans in the nation. In addition, with an estimated 115,000 active-duty military personnel, the county has the largest concentration of military members of any county in the nation.
Sen. Blakespear has fought for years to increase affordable housing, reduce homelessness and encourage all levels of government to do more to address the longstanding problem. She has advocated fiercely to build more transitional housing – tiny, modular, prefabricated homes – to eliminate street homelessness.
In addition, Sen. Blakespear has also held three Ending Homelessness Summits, bringing together state and local leaders, policymakers, stakeholders and experts to find innovative solutions to homelessness.
Sen. Blakespear represents Senate District 38, which covers northern San Diego County and southern Orange County. To learn more about the district and Sen. Blakespear, visit her Senate website.