Shasta County approves veteran homelessness plan, adds drug and alcohol counselor with opioid funds

Shasta County supervisors on July 16 approved a county plan to coordinate services for homeless veterans and voted unanimously to add a drug and alcohol counselor position to the Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA), initially funded with opioid settlement dollars.

The board approved a budget amendment and salary resolution that will use roughly $94,000 in opioid settlement funds to create the substance-use counselor role, part of a wider effort to connect veterans to housing, treatment and benefits. The plan designates the Veterans Service Office (VSO) as the central point of contact and formalizes partnerships with local veteran organizations including Our Hero's Dreams and Nation's Finest.

Why it matters: veterans make up an identifiable share of the county’s homeless population and, according to presenters, face barriers that require case-by-case, “wraparound” services. The county’s approach emphasizes immediate outreach, treatment where needed, landlord engagement, use of vouchers and targeted transitional housing — rather than a single, one-size-fits-all program.

Christy Coleman, interim agency director for Health and Human Services, described the process the county and local veteran organizations used to build the plan.…