Homeless veterans are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs for refusing to provide permanent housing on its sprawling Los Angeles campus despite a 10-year-old court settlement that mandates this.
The lawsuit was filed this week by 14 homeless veterans who say they are among a population forgotten by the federal government — men and women who fought for America but now suffer from mental illness or injuries while living in squalor.
“Over seven years after the VA committed to provide them Permanent Supportive Housing, they are still suffering and dying on the streets of Los Angeles. Even under the VA’s most optimistic and recent plans, thousands of veterans will continue to live and die on the streets of Los Angeles for years to come,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit called Los Angeles the “veterans’ capital of the United States,” with 3,458 homeless veterans that make up 10% of the national total.
The VA property is located on 388 acres of meticulous landscape near the celebrity enclave of Brentwood. It was formerly private land deeded over to the government following the Civil War to house disabled veterans. A mini-city was constructed through the early 20th Century, complete with a hospital, chapel, cafeteria, dormitories, post office, library, and trolley stop.
By 1922, 4,000 veterans permanently lived there. All was well until the 1960s, when new residents were not accepted and the facility fell into disrepair. New “tenants” started moving in that had no affiliation with disabled veterans. This includes a private school, the University of California, Marriott, and 20th Century Fox, the lawsuit said.
“There are today more than 100 buildings on the WLA Campus, many vacant, closed, or underutilized, as well as acres of available land. In contrast to what once existed and was intended, virtually no permanent housing is available to veterans with disabilities on the WLA Campus,” the lawsuit added.
The VA has repeatedly said over the past year that new housing construction is a priority after media reports surfaced in 2021 of a homeless veterans’ camp on a sidewalk bordering the property. The compound was dismantled and placed inside the VA property, but veterans still lived in tents and tiny homes.
New construction has been stymied by budgetary reasons and California’s extensive building regulations that add years to normal time frames. A scheduled date to open some apartments is early 2023, but that is an optimistic goal, veterans’ advocates say.
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“While our government has shown its ability to erect whole cities for troops halfway around the world that are hardened against attack, the VA has attempted to offload its responsibility for constructing Permanent Supportive Housing to third parties who are dependent on fundraising from public and private sources,” the lawsuit said.
The VA has even been slammed by its own Office of Inspector General in a 2021 report that noted not a single new residence had been completed since the court settlement was signed.
“The VA envisions all phases of construction will be completed in the next 17 years. However, the OIG has no assurance that this goal will be met,” the OIG stated in its report. The OIG also identified seven noncompliant land-use agreements — leases that did not meet the criteria of the original deed.
VA spokesman Terrence Hayes told the Washington Examiner that the agency has made a strong effort to house homeless veterans nationwide, including 30,000 this year alone.
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“There is nothing more important to VA than ending Veteran homelessness — both in Los Angeles and across the country,” Hayes said. “Veteran homelessness in LA has decreased by 6% since 2020, and VA has provided more than 950 permanent housing placements to LA Veterans during this calendar year. VA has also made available more than 130 new units of Veteran housing in the Los Angeles community this year, with 700 more expected in 2023. While we cannot comment on ongoing litigation, we at VA promise that we will not rest until every Veteran has a good, safe, stable home in this country they fought to defend.”
