An ongoing battle between homeless Veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has marked a great victory for Vets. A federal judge is ordering the VA to provide housing for Veterans on its West Los Angeles location. This comes after many Veterans got together to sue the VA over its usage of the 388-acre campus and the lack of development after housing units were promised but never built.
The Ruling on Housing for Veterans Homeless in LA
Judge David O. Carter has ruled in favor of the plaintiffs in their pursuit of providing housing for Veterans experiencing homelessness in the Los Angeles region.
The ruling will provide housing for Veterans in California as 1,800 new, permanent units are being built.
This issue has been ongoing since the VA received its sizable location in West Los Angeles as a gift in 1888.
No state experiences a higher concentration of Veteran homelessness than California. In fact, many of the plaintiffs who fought for this ruling are homeless themselves.
The scrutiny of the lack of use of the VA facility was at the heart of the matter, as many Veterans felt the property remained underutilized.
However, while Vets felt the available space wasn’t used to its full potential, the VA disagreed based on previous agreements, such as the use of renting out parts of its property to generate revenue.
The revenue generated by the VA from renting is used to provide Veterans with services throughout the property.
Building Homes for Vets
Finding low-income housing for Veterans in California remains an issue as the cost of both owning and renting property continues to rise, ranking second nationally trailing only Hawaii.
The VA has been ordered to build 750 temporary units to provide housing for Veterans in the next 12 to 18 months for an immediate solution, along with the 1,800 additional permanent options that will come.
Judge Carter pointed to the fact that the lack of housing for Veterans has been a problem the department has been made aware of since 2011 “…by the VA’s own Office of the Inspector General, federal courts, and Veterans…” involving Los Angeles.
A previous lawsuit called for the VA to build 1,200 new units for housing Veterans. However, not even 240 of them were built.
This fueled the fire for plaintiffs. It is also part of why the ruling is calling for the VA to deliver a plan for housing and supportive amenities to be completed within six years.
Los Angeles has a homeless Veteran population totaling over 3,000. There are ongoing projects from the local government, unrelated to the VA, focusing on sheltering more people in need.
Housing for Veterans in CA at Last
Finding affordable housing for Veterans in Los Angeles is no easy task, but it’s too important to simply bypass.
If anyone knows this, it’s Judge Carter, who is also a Veteran from his service during the Vietnam War.
Carter led a trip involving the press and lawyers around the VA’s campus in August to assess things first-hand.
Before being cleared out in 2021, there were many homeless camps with heavy Veteran populations throughout the VA’s facility.
However, Veterans were moved as the VA told everyone housing units were coming. This was only to displace some while providing only temporary housing solutions for others.
In addition to the VA providing housing for Veterans, the judge has also ruled that the leases in place are illegal.
How this affects services for Veterans remains to be seen. However, the oil companies and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) will have to leave. Exit plans will be determined in the future.
These decisions are not a total surprise as Judge Carter has already ruled partially about discriminatory actions by the VA.
So, it’s a win for Vets. Housing for Veterans in California facing homelessness is coming. Soon, they will receive the shelter they deserve. All eyes are now on the VA to be sure that they actually keep their word this go-round.
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