VA adds housing for homeless veterans on West LA Campus

VA opened a renovated building Feb. 28 on the West LA Campus, providing housing for 59 homeless and at-risk veterans.

The renovated building, building 207, is fully furnished, “move-in” ready, and includes amenities such as a central community space, computer room, fitness room, central laundry facilities, onsite management offices, leasing office, and case workers’ offices.

That brings the total to 113 permanent supportive housing units available for homeless and at-risk veterans and their families on the West LA Campus.

The PACT Act, which President Biden signed into law in 2022, provides funds that VA may use toward development of the supportive housing projects. More than $350 million is envisioned for use in supporting the housing development at West LA. This funding will help VA execute its plan to provide at least 1,200 units of supportive housing for veterans on the West LA campus by 2030.

“Fifty-nine veterans and their families will now have the good, safe, stable homes that they deserve, and there’s nothing more important than that,” said Tanya Bradsher, VA chief of staff. “We are excited about this critical step forward, but there is still much work to be done. No veteran should experience homelessness – in Los Angeles or anywhere else in America – and we won’t rest until every veteran has a home in this country they fought to defend.”

During 2022, VA provided placed more than 1,300 formerly homeless veterans into permanent housing in Los Angeles, the most of any city in America. Nationwide, VA housed 40,401 homeless veterans in 2022. Overall, the percentage of homeless veterans has decreased by 11% since January 2020 and by 55.3% since 2010.

VA has invested approximately $70 million in the West LA VA redevelopment effort to date, with plans to invest another $70 million through the end of the year in ongoing utility infrastructure, renovation and relocation projects.