WEST LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Don Garza knows what it’s like to serve in the U.S. military and like tens of thousands of veterans, be unhoused. “I’ve been in skid row for 26 years, so I’ve lived on the street, I lived in SRO housing, and now I live in what they call Section 42 housing,” Garza, a U.S. Marine veteran told Eyewitness News.
Garza is part of a Public Counsel now class action lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs over its failure to provide housing and healthcare to veterans with disabilities.
“Why is it taking this long?” asked Garza. “Where am I going to wind up? Am I going to die in the street?”
A federal judge sided with the plaintiffs ordering the VA build more than 2,000 units for unhoused veterans on its West Los Angeles campus, mostly permanent housing. After the VA appealed, A Ninth Circuit court decision upheld the order. Today, both parties back in court for a status conference. Judge David O. Carter expressed hope and optimism about over the discussions taking place.
“At the heart of this is veterans are sleeping and dying all over the streets of Los Angeles, thousands of them. And the most recent point-in-time count shows that 3,050 homeless veterans are sleeping on the streets every night,” said Rob Reynolds a veteran and veterans’ advocate.
The Department of Justice and VA stressed progress has been made, including hiring a project executive to manage construction and upgrades to housing units. Still in question is how, where and when all of the required units will be built, including those stemming from a previous 2011 lawsuit.
“It doesn’t really sound like they have everything dialed in of how the temporary housing could look, how permanent housing could look,” said Reynolds.
The 2011 lawsuit was filed over land donated to the VA’s West L.A. Campus for housing that was instead leased to entities including schools, leases the court deemed unlawful.
Meanwhile, in May President Donald Trump signed an executive order that calls for the housing of roughly 6,000 veterans on the same West L.A. campus.
Barring an appeal from the federal government government, over the Ninth Circuit Court ruling, a hearing is scheduled for February.
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