REP LIEU APPLAUDS NEW HOUSING FOR HOMELESS VETERANS AT THE WEST LA VA

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Ted W. Lieu (D-Los Angeles County) issued the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced three new lease agreements for the development of 264 additional permanent supportive housing units for homeless veterans at the West LA VA campus. The new buildings are expected to open in 2024 and 2025, and will be “move-in” ready – equipped with furniture and access to amenities including a central community space, a fitness room, onsite management and case workers’ offices and more.

“Our fight to end veteran homelessness will not stop until every single person who served our country in uniform has a safe and permanent place to call home. I’m thrilled that the VA has entered into three new lease agreements to provide more permanent supportive housing for our nation’s heroes at the West LA VA. Since I came to Congress, it has been my mission to make critical improvements to the West LA VA to better serve our veterans. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, but I know there is much work still left to do. These new leasing agreements are the latest progress we’ve made in housing homeless veterans on campus. I look forward to seeing the completion of the units and continuing our work to ensure no one who served our country goes without housing.”

The new lease agreements follow the opening of Building 207 in February, which added 59 new housing units for homeless veterans and their families on the West LA VA Campus. The VA will soon be opening Buildings 205 and 208 to bring the total number of units available to veterans to 233.

Background on Congressman Lieu’s work to fight veteran homelessness:

Congressman Lieu and Senator Feinstein (D-CA) authored legislation to ensure that lease revenue generated at the West LA VA campus go toward housing and other services for veterans, which was signed into law by President Biden in 2021. In 2022, Congressman Lieu and Senator Feinstein introduced a measure to allow funds specifically generated by easements at the campus to go toward supportive housing developments, which was also signed into law as part of the annual defense authorization bill. In addition, Rep. Lieu cosponsored the PACT Act, a comprehensive new law that provides more than $350 million for housing developments at the West LA VA. He also helped secure $483 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH) program that pairs HUD housing assistance with VA case management and supportive services for unhoused veterans.

For more on Congressman Lieu’s work related to veterans, please click here.

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