St. Mary Medical Center and Dignity Health has awarded the Century Villages at Cabrillo (CVC), a supportive housing community in West Long Beach, an $85,000 grant to support its Community and Wellness Initiative, it was announced.

The project is designed to improve the health of 1,300 formerly homeless veterans and families living on the CVC campus. The grant funds will be used to support a system of “shared health measurement and numerous wellness activities such as counseling, yoga, walking, biking and healthy eating,” according to the release.

The primary partners of the initiative include Veterans Yoga Project, The Guidance Center and the Occupational Therapy Department at California State University, Dominguez Hills.

“Yoga has been proven to be very effective in the treatment of PTSD and other trauma related issues,” said John Oppenheim, a long-time volunteer, Air Force veteran, and yoga instructor with the Veterans Yoga Project, in a statement. “This grant will allow us to bring the benefits of yoga to many more residents of The Villages by increasing the number of classes we offer.”

The organizers will kick off the three-year project with a Path to Wellness Health Fair, at Century Villages to be held on Friday, April 14.

A 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, Century Villages at Cabrillo (CVC) is a residential community established to break the cycle of homelessness. A former 26 acre US Naval housing site, CVC has become a nationwide public-private partnership model to benefit those in need.

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