Santa Barbara County is one of the most expensive places to live in the nation, largely because of housing.

Due to skyrocketing rents and the cost of housing, too many parents work multiple jobs just to get by, too many workers are forced into long commutes that increase traffic and carbon emissions, and too many people are living in their cars — an increasing alarming number of them senior women.

As a county supervisor, I believe we have an obligation to do everything we can to make housing more attainable. That means finding smarter and less expensive ways to build.

Affordable housing projects rarely rely on a single source of funding. They are assembled piece by piece, combining local, state, federal and private resources.

That is why I support state Proposition 1, the Veterans and Affordable Housing Bond Act, on the ballot that should be hitting your mailbox this week.

If approved by voters, Prop. 1 would:

• Provide $11.25 billion in state funding for housing
• $10 billion of that amount is designated for affordable housing and homeownership programs
• The remaining $1.25 billion is for veterans’ housing

Those dollars could mean subsidies for 40,000 multifamily rental units, 2,500 farmworker housing units and 1,200 university student beds.

It could also help 40,000 households with homeownership, including veterans.

We must stretch every public dollar as far as possible. Additional state funding from Prop. 1 can help close financing gaps, preserve affordable homes before they are lost to the market, build new housing, and provide the infrastructure that makes housing development possible.

We cannot solve our affordable housing crisis with one project, one jurisdiction or one funding source.

We need local action — like the county is doing with transforming underutilized land into affordable housing — with state and federal investment.

We need new construction, while preserving our cherished open spaces. We need rental housing alongside attainable homeownership.

We need housing for veterans, families, farmworkers, and people making the transition out of homelessness.

And we need to keep finding ways to build that housing more efficiently and affordably.

Housing is the foundation of a thriving community. If teachers, nurses, farmworkers, young families, service workers and seniors can’t afford to live here, our entire community pays the price.

Prop. 1 gives Santa Barbara County and communities throughout California a huge boost to meet that challenge. I believe we should use every tool we have.

I hope you’ll join me, the League of Women Voters, U.S. Vets and Habitat for Humanity in supporting Proposition 1.