Housing Dedicated for Mentally Ill

Supporters of housing for the county’s mentally ill celebrated Thursday as a $2.8-million complex of one-bedroom apartments on Lewis Road was officially dedicated.

Villa Calleguas, a rambling series of 24 apartments surrounding a barn-like community building, is designed to help 23 mentally disabled adults live on their own with limited supervision.

A manager will live in one of the units. Two full-time staff members will teach residents to become self-sufficient in skills such as grocery shopping, cooking, budget management and taking medication.

The apartments sit on a two-acre parcel of a 19-acre property that also houses the 30-bed Las Posadas complex for the mentally ill and Casa Pacifica, a gated 63-bed complex for neglected and emotionally disturbed children.

But completion of Villa Calleguas underscores the serious shortage of such housing. A recent study shows the county needs several hundred additional beds to meet the demand.

About 75% of the funding came from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The county also contributed nearly $500,000.

A lottery for the Villa Calleguas apartments held in June drew more than 200 applications. The 23 residents will pay as little as $15 a month, or up to 30% of their income for rent, depending on their ability to pay.

Tenants must be county residents, 18 or older, with a history of psychiatric disability requiring frequent hospitalization. They must also be able to live with limited support and pass a background check of their rental history.

The apartments were constructed through a partnership of the county’s Behavioral Health Department, the nonprofit Partners in Housing and the Area Housing Authority of Ventura County. Construction began in September.