The Johnson Family in front of Johnson Court, named after their father Vernon Johnson,
US Congressman Salud Carbajal and Ken William’s wife, Donna Williams. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — The Housing Authority Of The City Of Santa Barbara (HACSB) on Feb. 14 came together with the community to celebrate the grand opening of Johnson Court – the first housing development in Santa Barbara County specifically for veterans.
The event kicked off with the National Anthem sung by Tina Schlieske, a local rock artist from Santa Barbara and followed with a Presentation of Colors by the Vandenberg Air Force Base Honor Guard. Moving speeches came from HACSB’s CEO and Executive Director, Rob Fredericks, as well as from a daughter from the Johnson family, US Congressman Salud Carbajal and Donna Williams, whose late husband Ken Williams inspired the name of the on-site community room.
Ken Williams was a local hero who walked the streets of Santa Barbara for more than three decades, reaching out to the poor and the marginalized in the Santa Barbara community. He was also a United States Marine and a Vietnam Veteran.
Johnson Court will have 16 studio units for very low and low-income veterans, a two-bedroom manager unit, and common area and office space to accommodate the provision of services and activities on-site. Veterans will begin moving in this week.
To learn more about HACSB, please visit hacsb.org.
About The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara: The Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara is a local public agency created for the purpose of providing safe, decent, and quality affordable housing and supportive services to eligible persons with limited incomes, through a variety of federal, state, local and private resources. Since 1969, the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara has developed and/or secured over 4,000 units of affordable rental housing for Santa Barbara through a variety of federal, state, local and private funding sources. Please visit the website at www.hacsb.org.