An estimated 4,000 homeless veterans live in street encampments like this throughout Los Angeles County.
As of Nov. 1, the homeless encampment outside the VA medical center in West Los Angeles, popularly known as “Veterans’ Row,” has been cleared by volunteers from AMVETS and the county.
Another temporary encampment was set up by the VA on the West Los Angeles medical center’s campus, with the promise that several dozen “tiny-homes” would soon be established, in addition to the few that have already been built. However, the VA has not produced a public timetable for when construction will be completed or how many veterans will be able to live there.
The Los Angeles Times reports that “tensions were high on moving day at the encampment,” with many of the veterans—some of whom have lived at the camp for years—expressing mixed feelings about the change.
The Los Angeles Times notes that many veterans felt the camp should not have been necessary in the first place, while volunteers hope to keep the VA accountable to its promises. Staff at the West Los Angeles medical center say that outreach is a top priority.
In late October, VA Secretary Dennis McDonough announced that the department had plans to house over 500 homeless veterans living in Los Angeles by the end of the year, with expedited plans to house those living on Veterans Row by Nov. 1. Recent estimates claim that as many as 4,000 homeless veterans live in the county, or around 10% of the total number of homeless veterans living in the United States.
CBS Los Angeles reports that “clearing the encampment was not solely about housing, but also about safety,” noting that there had been two homicides at the encampment since May 2021.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
