About Us

Who We Are

We’re the ones who rescue the veterans…

…other agencies have written off as too difficult or damaged to help.

Gold Coast Veterans Foundation is:

  • a non-profit agency that has become the go-to resource for the 45,000 military veterans in Ventura County
  • a small organization led by an all-volunteer veteran Board of Directors
  • the opposite of big “bureaucracy style” charity or government agencies

Every member of our office staff is either a US military veteran or an immediate family member of a veteran. We do more because we care more.

We’re the ones who catch the veterans…

… that “fall through the cracks” in the larger systems of care.

What We Do

Design, build, and operate the first comprehensive, integrated care model for veterans in this region.

Whether a veteran is high-risk or low-risk, housed or homeless, on-track or de-railed, working or retired, disabled, damaged, or debonair… GCVF offers one or more critically important services. These services improve health and quality of life, reduce suffering, prevent frustration, or often save a veteran’s life.

Mission Statement: To reduce or eliminate suffering, lowered quality of life, re‐integration difficulties, and negative lifetime outcomes of American military veterans.

Our Vision is to create a comprehensive system of care that will disrupt and defeat the chain of events that leads to negative health and life outcomes for veterans. We will use direct intervention to address and resolve the root causes and underlying problems…before lives are damaged or lost.

One size never fits all.

GCVF offers a full range of individualized services, provided on a 1-on-1 personal contact basis. Services include:

Veterans Connection

A walk-in / no-appointment service center that provides individual case management and personal assistance. A real human being, not a computer.

Mobile Veteran Outreach

(MVO) engages the most difficult‐to‐serve of all veterans, the homeless. 90%+ have additional mental/physical/substance issues and are at the highest risk. MVO puts someone at the right place, at the right time, to save that life.

Veterans’ Village

Veterans’ Village, is designed to be a place where veterans find shelter for mind and body, find healing and comfort…and a place to begin repairing their lives.  A completely new and holistic approach to ending veteran homelessness.

Housing Assistance

Including homeless prevention/reversal, placement in low-income emergency, temporary, short-term, and long-term permanent housing, subsidized housing (HUD VASH assistance), home ownership counseling

Restorative & Wellness Programs

Including the highly effective Healing in America peer counseling program, informal peer counseling, and partnerships with clinical mental health specialists.

Benefit & Claims Assistance

Convenient low-hassle access to a VA Veteran Claims Officer, experienced help with enrollment and navigating VA healthcare, disability claims (including “Agent Orange” exposure), retirement benefits, survivor benefits, and military records access.

Employment & Career Programs

Including job skills assessment, job skill/job readiness, interview skills, business clothing, job referral and placement, and veteran entrepreneurship training.

Financial Coaching

For veterans to be in control of their financial health. Self‐sufficiency is a primary factor in positive outcomes and preventing veteran homelessness

Veteran Entrepreneurship

Program will provide veterans the capacity to run new businesses and enhance or expand existing businesses in order to be more financially independent, creating stronger, more capable veteran owned businesses.

This full spectrum of services, as well as these resources, serve to bridge the service gaps between government programs which are not always sufficient or easily accessible.

These components create a robust and effective Integrated Care Model, creating a viable method to end veteran homelessness in Ventura County, and is replicable elsewhere.