LOS ANGELES — Apart from his backpack and bicycles, army veteran Julian Saucedo doesn’t have much to call his own. When you live on the streets, he said, traveling light is par for the course.

“Right now, I’m just kind of bouncing around, you know, bouncing around from place to place,” Saucedo said.

What You Need To Know

  • The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the VA's motion for a stay of Judge David O. Carter's ruling in Powers v. McDonough, the case brought by homeless disabled veterans against the Department of Veterans Affairs over the lack of supportive housing on the West Los Angeles campus and throughout the community

  • There are more than 100 temporary shelter beds available to homeless veterans across Los Angeles on any given night, according to the VA, which is fewer than the nearly 3,000 veterans experiencing unsheltered homelessness in the city

  • Judge Carter's order to build 750 units of temporary housing on the sprawling 388-acre West LA Campus is now blocked by the appeals court

  • The VA's case for an appeal will be heard by the Ninth Circuit Court in April 2025

Saucedo served several tours in Afghanistan and Iraq in the early 2000s, enduring brutal warfare. When he returned home in 2006, he said the battle didn’t end there.

“It was a shock, you know, going from the battlefield straight to like... civilian world,” he said.

On any given night in Los Angeles, more than 3,000 veterans are sleeping on the streets. As nights get colder, some of them seek shelter at the tiny-home sheds on the West LA Veteran Affairs campus. But with only a handful of beds available each night, a spot isn’t always guaranteed.

Unable to get his own bed tonight, Saucedo said he’ll have to use blankets to stay warm.

In August, following a lawsuit from homeless veterans, a federal court judge ordered the VA to build more temporary and permanent housing on its sprawling 388-acre campus.

The VA, disagreeing with the ruling, sought an appeal with the 9th Circuit Court, arguing they already have a housing plan that works — and just recently they won. That means all construction of the additional court-ordered housing is now on pause.

Officials with the VA, including Chief of Staff Margaret Kabat, defended the appeal.

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“We have a plan — the master plan — and it’s working. We’ve decreased homelessness in this city by 23% over the last year. And we have more than 100 temporary housing beds across the city every night, for veterans who don’t want to be sleeping on the street, to be in,” Kabat said.

The VA has built hundreds of new apartments on the campus since 2020 — and hundreds more are expected to open soon — apartments that vets like Saucedo could call home.

“I mean, I wouldn’t mind, you know... because it’s home,” he said.

But until the next legal battle over VA housing plays out in court, Saucedo’s dream remains on hold.