The Department of Veterans Affairs has updated its goals for combating veterans homelessness in the Greater Los Angeles area. (Photo: Chris Yarzab)
On Feb. 25, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued updated goals for its ongoing efforts to combat homelessness in the Greater Los Angeles area.
The federal department now plans to place more than 1,500 California veterans into permanent housing by the end of 2022, which is “greater than [a] 10% increase in permanent housing placements since calendar year 2021.”
This is a continuation of a goal previously established by VA Secretary Denis McDonough in October to house at least 500 Los Angeles-area veterans, including those from the now-defunct Veterans Row encampment that was outside the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center. The VA notes that it was successful in surpassing this goal but did not explain further.
Additionally, the department will increase the percentage of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing, or HUD-VASH, vouchers to 75 percent with the intention of helping veterans avert homelessness with rent subsidies. As of Feb. 25, over 5,000 HUD-VASH vouchers were available for California veterans.
Lastly, the department says that it wants to increase the rate at which eligible veterans are able to find permanent housing through HUD-VASH. Currently, less than 50 percent of veterans can find housing through the program within 90 days.
The VA says that, nationally, it expects to house “at least 38,000 veterans experiencing homelessness” in 2022. Since October 2021, the VA has primarily focused on combating homelessness in Southern California, where nearly 30 percent of the nation’s entire homeless veterans population lives according to the most recent data available from the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.
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.
