O.C. BUSINESS PLUS : ORANGE COUNTY BRIEFLY : New Charity Will Build Homes for Needy People

St. Joseph Health Systems and Catholic Healthcare West said Wednesday they have established a charity devoted to creating more affordable housing throughout Orange County.

Mercy Charities Housing California, which has developed more than 2,500 rental units statewide for poor families, senior citizens, the homeless or disabled, opened its first office Wednesday in Orange County.

The health care providers will support the office in Orange for three years and hope the group eventually will become self-sustaining. Though it has not set goals for the amount of housing that it intends to create, the charity will begin applying for grants, federal tax credits and other public funds to develop new housing, said Dara Kovel, who heads the group’s local office.