City Council blasts VA for lack of progress in housing homeless vets
CITY HALL Frustrated with the lack of progress in housing homeless veterans at the Los Angeles Veterans Administration Campus, the City Council on Tuesday issued a non-binding resolution calling on federal officials to pick up the pace.
During a meeting with representatives from the VA, the council learned that the plan to house veterans in three buildings at the campus is still in its infant stages, with a contract for rehabilitation and remodel of one building not expected to be approved until January 2009 at the earliest.
It would be a year and several months after that before veterans could move in, officials said.
The process is taking some time because of a lack of room to move patients currently occupying one of the buildings, said Ralph Tillman, chief of assessment management for the VA. A bed tower also must be built to house patients, creating the need for a “phased approach.”
Councilman Bobby Shriver, who has been advocating for more housing for veterans for roughly three years, was the most vocal of all council members, blasting the VA and elected officials in Washington, D.C. for allegedly failing to serve those who have given so much to their country. He was not pleased with the phased approach being taken.
“This is outrageous,” Shriver said. “I’m frustrated that this has happened. I’m frustrated that federal legislation has slowed this down …. [Former VA Secretary James ] Nicholson made the decision a year ago and today, nearly a year later, we only have expressions of interest. That’s mind boggling.”
The legislation that Shriver was referring to is H.R. 2225, authored by Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) that permanently prohibits the sale of any West L.A. VA property. The measure was celebrated by city officials both in Los Angeles and Santa Monica as it prevented commercial developers from building on the campus.
That said, the law also prohibits the use of enhanced use leases on the property, which were used to partner with commercial developers as well as homeless service providers. There is a concern that without enhanced use leases — the preferred method of linking service providers with the VA — many nonprofits will be unable to secure financing and tax credits to operate at the campus, defeating the purpose of creating supportive housing there.
Representatives from Waxman’s office said the congressman has studied the issue carefully and is confident that there are at least two other mechanisms available for nonprofits to operate successfully at the VA.
It was Waxman who suggested the council pass the resolution calling for swifter action.
Shriver was the lone councilman to vote against the resolution because he did not feel comfortable supporting something that “pats officials on their backs” when very little movement has been made, he said.
While he is grateful for the support of Waxman and U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D- Calif.) as well as Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Shriver believes more can be done.
Tillman said the VA sympathizes with the council and shares some of their frustration.
The agency is committed to seeing the plan through.
“We want to get homeless veterans off the street,” Tillman said. “We are taking every action within our authority to accomplish the same goals.”
The VA is preparing to release more than 800 HUD-VASH vouchers to cities in Los Angeles County to help house homeless veterans. City Hall has identified 15 homeless veterans in Santa Monica, according to the VA, some of which are already actively engaged with service providers.
VA officials said they are in the process of hiring case workers so that they can distribute the vouchers. City Hall has expressed some disappointment that the vouchers have not been released yet.
“We are looking to get them off the streets as quickly as possible,”said Julie Rusk, the director of Human Services for City Hall. “We would like to making more rapid progress.”
VA officials said they will commit as many VASH vouchers to Santa Monica as the city needs.
In related news, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday voted to give Santa Monica $1.1 million to assist the city and service providers OPCC and Step Up on Second with their efforts to house 70 of the city’s most vulnerable homeless who have been without shelter the longest and are seven times more likely to die while living on the streets.
The money is for two years and will pay for case managers to work with those who are housed. City Hall will provide housing vouchers, Rusk added.
“This will be a great opportunity to get 70 people off the streets,” Rusk said. “We already know who these people are.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 10, 2008. Read the original PDF.