Since the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs drew up a plan to build 1,200 units of housing for homeless veterans on its West Los Angeles campus to settle a lawsuit, progress has been appallingly slow. Eight years later, just 233 are open and an additional 535 are under construction.
But a new ruling in another lawsuit against the VA will hopefully jump-start the housing plan. U.S. District Judge David O. Carter ruled last week that the VA had failed Los Angeles County’s 3,000 homeless veterans by not building housing fast enough and by mishandling the sprawling 388-acre campus that was deeded to the government in 1888 to be a place where disabled veterans could live and thrive.
It shouldn’t have taken a judge to force the VA to do the right thing by homeless vets. But we appreciate that Carter ordered the VA to build 750 units of temporary housing on the campus in the next year and a half and come up with a plan in the next six months to build 1,800 units of permanent supportive housing for veterans. That’s on top of the 1,200 units the VA already is struggling to build. Additionally, Carter told the VA to build a town center with services and business, something veterans have long wanted. A court-appointed special master will monitor the progress and adjust the number of units of housing as needed.
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