LOS ANGELES (CNS) — A motion that would allow more veterans to live in housing built as a result of the passage of the 2016 bond measure Proposition HHH was approved Wednesday by the Los Angeles City Council.
The motion by council members Traci Park and Katy Yaroslavsky addresses a bureaucratic obstacle that had disqualified certain veterans, in spite of being homeless, from receiving housing as a result of their benefits exceeding the income restrictions for certain units.
“This is a significant step towards ensuring our veterans have access to the support they need and deserve,” Park said in a statement. This change fills a critical gap, ensuring that senior veterans who are currently living in tiny homes in our district will move into housing because of this amendment.
By increasing income limits to account for veteran benefits, Wednesday’s City Council action will allow more veterans to access needed housing and services.
“The motion approved by the City Council will go a long way to ensuring that our most disabled veterans can obtain permanent housing in HHH funded projects throughout the city and more specifically on West LA VA property,” said Steve Braverman, the executive director of the Veterans Affairs Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System.
Park said she became aware of the barriers at the opening of Building 207, a new permanent supportive housing project at the West Los Angeles Department of Veterans Affairs health campus for 59 unhoused and at-risk veterans.
“These veterans impacted are 100% disabled and 100% service-connected to the VA, and they are the very people who will benefit the most from living on campus, close to the VA hospital,” Park said in a statement.
The motion now goes to Mayor Karen Bass for her signature.