WASHINGTON — A trial started Tuesday in federal court in Los Angeles in a class-action lawsuit that seeks to force the Department of Veterans Affairs to build 4,000 units of subsidized housing and 1,000 shelter beds for homeless veterans.
Attorneys representing homeless veterans in the case also seek to end the VA’s practice of leasing land to commercial enterprises — including a golf course, parking facilities and an oil drilling company — on the West Los Angeles campus where housing for the veterans is under development.
“For countless veterans, military service has rendered them unable to fully resume their civilian lives, sustain their family relationships, maintain employment, continue their education or even maintain a permanent residence,” according to the lawsuit, which is being heard in U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.
The attorneys are asking Judge David Carter to increase the number of “permanent supportive housing” units that the VA is required to build for homeless disabled veterans on the campus from 1,215 to 4,000.
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