SYLMAR, Calif. — He’s been fine-tuning his life, learning how to live in his new apartment — Donte Aguilar moved in three months ago after years of homelessness.
He’s grateful for the fridge, the stove, closets and the door that closes, but he’s especially grateful for the space to practice his music — Aguilar is learning guitar.
“Music is a part of me,” he said. “It’s just as important to me as my heartbeat is.”
While his passion is music, his career was in the armed forces. Aguilar is a veteran — he served in the Navy for three years in the early 2000s. After his time in service, he moved to Los Angeles.
A divorce, a decline in his mental health and addiction challenges led him into homelessness. He ended up living in a shelter on Skid Row.
“It seemed like [living in an apartment] was never going to come. It seemed like every day I was out there; there was less and less hope. That’s what it does out there. It just drains you little by little. It’s not a pretty sight. I’m just glad to be here,” Aguilar said.
And while his time on skid row left him feeling hopeless — the view from his sitting room fills Aguilar with a sense of peace.
He now has floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over the Hansen Dam.
He lives in a new permanent supportive housing project in Sylmar. A collaboration between LA Family Housing and Many Mansions developed the building. It will have consistent on-site support through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“When people walk in here, I want them to feel this zen. Whatever worries are on their mind, whatever you have on your shoulders, it just feels like it washes off as soon as you walk through that door,” Aguilar said.
City and county leaders recently attended the grand opening of Summit View. They acknowledged that getting connected with housing can be challenging for some homeless veterans.
LA City Council member Monica Rodriguez explained Summit View was able to expand services thanks to a collaboration between the city, state and federal government.
“Thankfully, Many Mansions and LA Family Housing has been working closely with the Veterans Administration to actually facilitate and get around a lot of those barriers that have caused that. We know there is a labyrinth of challenges for veterans to overcome to access services — this is where we coalesce all these opportunities to come together,” Rodriguez said.
LA County Supervisor Kathryn Barger was also at the ribbon cutting. She acknowledged that LA County still has far too many homeless veterans.
“Where do you start? You take one step at a time and putting these projects together is just one more step in the right direction. Now what we have to do is stop the bleeding on the other side for those that are becoming homeless,” the supervisor said.
Sitting in his own unit at Summit View, Aguilar said he knew as soon as he walked through the front door this was where he wanted to rebuild his life.
“At the end of the day, I’m the hero of this story. And I’m just getting started,” he said.