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With Veteran homelessness in LA at lowest point since 2016, VA cuts ribbon on new housing on West LA Campus

PRESS RELEASE

November 14, 2024

Los Angeles , CA — LOS ANGELES – Today, as a part of VA’s continued efforts to combat Veteran homelessness, VA Chief of Staff Margaret (Meg) Kabat will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony for 671 MacArthur Avenue – a new building on the West LA VA North Campus that houses homeless and at-risk Veterans.

Veteran homelessness has reached the lowest point in Los Angeles since 2016* – down 23% year over year. This data comes from the PIT Count, an annual count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness on a single night in January. In Los Angeles, the data show were 2,991 Veterans experiencing homelessness in January 2024 - down 52% from 2011.

VA has permanently housed more homeless Veterans in Los Angeles than anywhere else in America for each of the past three years (including 1,854 Veterans during 2024). Nationwide, Veteran homelessness reached a record low in 2024 – and VA housed nearly 48,000 homeless Veterans in 2024 alone. 

The opening of this building in September marked the availability of 307 Veteran housing units open on campus, and construction is underway on seven additional buildings that will provide another 461 units, with 730 total units expected to be open by the end of 2025. All units are fully furnished for the Veteran residents. The building offers a community garden, dog park, gym, walking paths, and a business center. Thus far, roughly 90% of the building’s 74 resident units are currently filled.

“There is nothing more important to VA than ending Veteran homelessness, and we’re proud that Veteran homelessness in Los Angeles has reached the lowest point since 2016,” said Margaret (Meg) Kabat, Chief of Staff for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. “This continued expansion of housing for Veterans on the West LA campus – as well as the wraparound and supportive services we provide – ensures that we are not only offering our Veterans a roof over their heads, but also the tools for a brighter, more stable future. And make no mistake: we won’t rest until Veterans homelessness in LA is a thing of the past.”

In addition to expanding housing on the West LA campus, VA’s efforts to house homeless Veterans in Los Angeles include: 

  1. VA has housed more homeless Veterans in LA than anywhere else in America in 2022, 2023, and 2024: VA has also made progress in combating Veteran homelessness in the Greater Los Angeles area, permanently housing 1,854 homeless Veterans with permanent housing this fiscal year — the most of any city in America (for the third year in a row) and exceeding VA’s FY 2024 goals for this region by 15.5%.
  2. Making sure that housed Veterans don’t return to homelessness: Of the 1,854 Los Angeles Veterans housed in FY 2024, 92.9% did not return to homelessness. In addition, 2,308 unsheltered Veterans throughout the VAGLAHS catchment area have been engaged to ensure they have access to the housing and other wraparound services they need.
  3. VA launched a new call center serving unsheltered Veterans in LA: VA’s first-ever emergency housing call center launched in December 2022 at VAGLAHS, and it has brought more than 500 unsheltered Veterans off the street since its inception. Veterans experiencing homelessness can call 310-268-3350 and get an Uber/Lyft ride to VA-supported emergency housing on the same day they call.
  4. VA is providing mobile outreach to homeless Veterans:  In early 2024, VAGLAHS also began operation of a MMU for homelessness and mental health outreach. It travels around Los Angeles offering primary and preventative care, referrals to specialty care and access to housing assistance for Veterans in their own communities. Hosting multiple events per month, the MMU has seen over 200 Veterans since April 2024.
  5. VA has adopted a “no wrong door” approach to homelessness in LA: Our approach in LA is to ensure that there is no “wrong door” to support from VA. One application of this is the by-name list (BNL), a tool that identifies and tracks services for all unhoused Veterans. For the first time, Los Angeles has an accurate BNL that all providers are committed to keeping up to date. Additionally, this approach has facilitated resource sharing. By combining LA County and VA resources, we have been able to expand the affordable housing supply. In June 2024, the first two bulk leasing buildings have been opened, 51 apartments in Burbank and West Hollywood, and a third building has just been opened, offering 17 new apartments in Hawthorne with more buildings on the way.

If you are a Veteran in greater Los Angeles experiencing homelessness, call the temporary housing hotline at 310-268-3350, Monday - Friday 7:30 a.m. – 4 p.m. If you need shelter outside of normal business hours, please call Volunteers of America (available 24/7) at 213-623-8580.

Media interested in attending the ribbon cutting should reply to this email address (emma.spaulding@va.gov) or text 310-925-5430. 

*There was no full PIT count in Los Angeles in 2021 due to COVID-19. 

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