A measure authorizing leases at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs building that will lead to permanent supportive housing to homeless veterans was signed into law by President Barack Obama Thursday.
The law authored by Reps. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, and Jeff Miller, R- Florida, would give the VA secretary the ability to enter into leases that allow housing and supportive services at the building.
A plan announced earlier this year calls for 1,200 units to be made available to homeless veterans at the facility.
“I am extremely grateful that President Obama signed this important legislation for veterans into law today,” Lieu said. “This is a significant first step and now we must complete the mission by revitalizing the West Los Angeles VA to make it a truly Veteran-centric campus.”
https://lieu.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/obama-changes-lives-homeless-veterans-signs-housing-law
Strict income eligibility rules that prevented some unhoused veterans in Los Angeles from obtaining housing are now being rescinded by the federal government.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced Thursday that service-related disability benefits will no longer count against applicants seeking housing help through a federal program designed for veterans. Until now, those benefits were often enough to put unhoused veterans above the income limit for obtaining a housing voucher.
The move comes in the middle of a federal trial happening in Los Angeles. The case was brought by 14 unhoused veterans who allege the federal government has persistently failed to fulfill its duty to provide housing and healthcare to disabled veterans.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/los-angeles-veterans-va-west-campus-housing-homeless-hud-vash-vouchers-eligibility-change-disability
You might or might not remember this story about the Judge who ordered this (originally to house 3000 vets). He was ruled against by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals because it looked like he wanted to micromanage it (Pickle Ball Courts, etc).
https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circuit-frowns-at-judges-sweeping-injunction-to-build-housing-for-homeless-vets/
Biden signs the PACT act
VA opened a renovated building Feb. 28 on the West LA Campus, providing housing for 59 homeless and at-risk veterans.
The renovated building, building 207, is fully furnished, “move-in” ready, and includes amenities such as a central community space, computer room, fitness room, central laundry facilities, onsite management offices, leasing office, and case workers’ offices.
That brings the total to 113 permanent supportive housing units available for homeless and at-risk veterans and their families on the West LA Campus.
The PACT Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2022, provides funds that VA may use toward development of the supportive housing projects. More than $350 million is envisioned for use in supporting the housing development at West LA. This funding will help VA execute its plan to provide at least 1,200 units of supportive housing for veterans on the West LA campus by 2030.
https://www.legion.org/information-center/news/homeless-veterans/2023/february/va-adds-housing-for-homeless-veterans-on-west-la-campus
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) released the following statement today after President Biden signed into law the West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act, a bill led by Padilla and Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). The bill will allow the Department of Veterans Affairs to use funds generated by land-use agreements at the West LA VA campus to aid the development of supportive housing and services for homeless veterans.
“Addressing the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles, particularly among Veterans, requires every tool at our disposal. The West Los Angeles VA Campus Improvement Act signed into law today will help the campus meet its mission of housing thousands of homeless veterans,” said Senator Padilla. “Our veterans have given so much in service to our country, and it’s only right that we do the same for them by ensuring they have access to the comprehensive care services they need. I thank Senator Feinstein and Representative Lieu for their advocacy over the years in making this possible.”
https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-applauds-enactment-of-bill-to-address-veteran-homelessness-in-los-angeles/
Federal officials say they’re making major progress in housing unhoused veterans in the L.A. area, as they push back on calls by a federal judge and advocates to house 4,000 veterans at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ sprawling campus in West L.A.
“I think we want to be careful here not to essentially create new redlining, where the expectation is that all veterans who are formerly homeless are packed into the West L.A. campus,” said John Kuhn, the VA’s deputy medical center director for Greater Los Angeles, in an interview with LAist this week.
“Certainly the West L.A. campus is an important asset, and it's part of the solution. But our goal is to end homelessness. Our goal isn't to build as much housing as possible on [the] West L.A. campus and essentially create a ghetto for veterans,” he added.
The VA is committed to current plans for 1,200 units on the campus by 2030, added Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the nation’s top veterans health care official.
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/veterans-housing-la-west-la
Los Angeles , CA — Veteran homelessness is at its lowest in Los Angeles County since 2016 and at its lowest on record nationwide.
But that’s just the beginning as VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (VAGLAHS) has joined forces with Mayor Karen Bass and dedicated community partners on a new initiative to get more Veterans off the streets and into homes of their own.
From Jan. 1, 2025, through April 1, 2025, VAGLAHS, Mayor Bass, Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA), Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA), Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and other public-private partners will be working together to get as many Veterans as possible into permanent housing.
“We are ecstatic at VA to support this initiative,” said VA Secretary Denis McDonough. “As we say every day at VA, when we end homelessness for Veterans in Los Angeles, we will have shown America how to do it. We are all in, and we will not rest until every Veteran has precisely what he or she deserves, which is a dignified housing arrangement. We are thrilled to be part of this, and we are committed to seeing this through.”
https://www.va.gov/greater-los-angeles-health-care/news-releases/amid-record-low-numbers-for-veteran-homelessness-in-la-joint-initiative-to-put-even-more-veterans-in/
5 things to know about veterans’ fight for more housing at West LA campus
https://laist.com/news/housing-homelessness/west-la-va-campus-explainer
Democratic Lawmakers Blast Trump Administration’s VA Cuts After ProPublica Investigation
Democratic House members on Thursday blasted the Trump administration’s moves to shrink the Department of Veterans Affairs and demanded more transparency from its leaders after a ProPublica investigation revealed widespread disruptions across the agency’s health care system.
“There are real-life dangerous impacts for veterans,” said Rep. Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, citing the news organization’s work.
This week, ProPublica reported on dozens of emails sent from staff at VA hospitals and clinics across the country to headquarters warning how cuts could, and in some cases are, degrading the agency’s ability to provide for the roughly 9 million veterans who rely on it.
https://www.propublica.org/article/veterans-affairs-doug-collins-democrats-transparency-job-cuts-healthcare
Trump administration plans to cut 80,000 employees from Veterans Affairs, according to internal memo
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs is planning a reorganization that includes cutting over 80,000 jobs from the sprawling agency that provides health care and other services for millions of veterans, according to an internal memo obtained Wednesday by The Associated Press.
The VA’s chief of staff, Christopher Syrek, told top-level officials at the agency Tuesday that it had an objective to cut enough employees to return to 2019 staffing levels of just under 400,000. That would require terminating tens of thousands of employees after the VA expanded during the Biden administration, as well as to cover veterans impacted by burn pits under the 2022 PACT Act.
The memo instructs top-level staff to prepare for an agency-wide reorganization in August to “resize and tailor the workforce to the mission and revised structure.” It also calls for agency officials to work with the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency to “move out aggressively, while taking a pragmatic and disciplined approach” to the Trump administration’s goals. Government Executive first reported on the internal memo.
https://apnews.com/article/veterans-affairs-cuts-doge-musk-trump-f587a6bc3db6a460e9c357592e165712
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