LOS ANGELES — A homeless veteran encampment outside a Veterans Affairs hospital was finally closed Monday after residents spent more than a year staring at the facility that was supposed to be serving them.
The flag-draped encampment known as “Veterans Row” is located in Brentwood, just a few miles from where A-list celebrities live in multimillion-dollar homes. Some of the veterans are moving into motels and treatment centers while others will be on the VA property where they have access to all the treatment available.
“We’re happy about it,” Navy veteran Scott Baty told CBSLA. “Get out of here and get somewhere safe. I was assaulted maybe eight times out here. Slugged in the face, knocked out — it hasn’t been fun.”
NEWSOM INVITES WORLD’S HOMELESS TO CALIFORNIA
Two homicides occurred in the encampment during the past six months, adding to the urgency to find shelter for the group that numbered about 55 at its peak. On Monday, 15 were left.
“We have been working diligently to get each one of them housed. Each one of them has a different set of needs and so it’s taken a little bit of time, Darryl Joseph, a VA spokesman, told CBSLA.
The veterans’ plight even attracted the attention of Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough, who toured the area last month. He said he couldn’t comment as to why the veterans were allowed to languish there for so long.
“It’s tragic. You have veterans on the sidewalk and a 400 acre-plus facility with resources not being used. It’s a no-brainer,” Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva told the Washington Examiner. “These people served our nation in times of need, and we relied on them. People have turned their backs on them when it was their time of need.”
Villanueva has visited the tent city four times this year and tasked his Homeless Outreach team with finding living facilities for the veterans before Nov. 1.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The city is storing all the property belonging to the veterans until they are in a position to retrieve it. One man was shown in an LA Times photograph playing the piano inside his tent.
