CONGRESS THWARTS EFFORT TO AID HOMELESS VETERANS
 
Washington, D.C.—The House of Representatives dealt a blow to disabled, homeless veterans and their advocates on Monday, passing a bill that will block public funding of a 147-unit supportive housing project that was to be developed on VA property in the San Fernando Valley. Already, 20,000 homeless veterans call the streets of Los Angeles “home,” and these numbers are expected to rise as more veterans return from Iraq and Afghanistan.  Over 11% of the 1.6 million troops who have been deployed overseas will return to California, and there are currently no plans for housing this critical population.  Clearly, the shameful statistics of homeless veterans in Los Angeles must be addressed.

H.R. 1642 requires that VA leases for housing projects specify “veterans only” instead of “veterans’ preference.”  While this wording may seem fair on the surface, the requirement actually makes it impossible for agencies such as New Directions (and its partner agency, A Community of Friends) to raise private or public funding for housing projects.  Due to the intricacies of antidiscrimination laws, public and private housing lenders will only provide funding for “veterans’ preference” housing – but not for “veterans only” facilities.  The authors of H.R. 1642 claim that the “veterans only” requirement is a safeguard, intended to ensure the development of 100% veteran only housing projects.  However, nationally, “veterans’ preference” is the standard designation for veteran housing developments. The two buildings specified in H.R. 1642 would be the only properties in the country designated for “veterans only” under VA lease requirements.

New Directions and A Community of Friends view H.R. 1642 as an attempt by Representative Brad Sherman to stop the development of new housing projects on VA land in his district. While claiming to support America’s veterans by insisting on “veterans only” leases, Rep. Sherman is actually stacking the deck against homeless veterans, making it impossible for agencies to develop the kind of supportive housing that is truly needed.  H.R. 1642 was written specifically to target two buildings on VA property in the San Fernando Valley.  It is essentially a “NIMBY” (Not In My Back Yard) policy that is masquerading as legislation to serve veterans.

New Directions’ mission is to provide comprehensive services to disabled, homeless veterans. The agency has served this community for over 15 years, assisting more than 8,000 veterans. New Directions complies with all federal, state and local laws, and over the past four years has followed the Enhanced Use Lease (EUL) process mandated by Congress.

Although H.R. 1642 was passed on Monday in the House of Representatives, the bill has not yet made it to the Senate.  In the coming weeks, New Directions will join a number of agencies and veteran advocates in urging Senators to reject this legislation, in deference to the ever-growing population of homeless, disabled veterans. 

New Directions, Inc. provides drug and alcohol detoxification, residential care, intensive substance abuse treatment and job training for homeless veterans.  The non-profit agency is located on the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.  An estimated 20,000 homeless veterans reside on the streets of Los Angeles. A Community of Friends is a premier non-profit developer of affordable, supportive housing for disabled individuals.