Mayor Karen Bass announces an initiative to ‘House Our Vets’ at a Nov. 16 luncheon at the Getty House that honored veterans who were housed this year through a similar program. Under the program, property owners are being encouraged to rent to veterans.
Courtesy photo
Wave Staff Report
LOS ANGELES — Five days after Veterans Day, Mayor Karen Bass announced a focused effort to permanently house more veterans by the end of the year through her “House Our Vets” initiative.
Her announcement came during a Getty House luncheon Nov. 16 where the mayor and Los Angeles Housing Authority President and CEO Lourdes Castro Ramirez honored veterans who were housed this year through “House Our Vets.” Since launching the initiative last January, nearly 400 veterans have been housed with a 99% retention rate and more property owners have answered the patriotic call to rent their housing units to veterans.
“We have enough housing vouchers in Los Angeles to bring every homeless vet into permanent housing, and so we need to act with urgency to bring more vets off the streets,” Bass said. “Through ‘House Our Vets,’ we are building a partnership that brings together more property owners to rent their apartments and clears the barriers for vets to use vouchers to come inside.
“Hundreds of veterans were housed so far this year, and we will continue to do all we can to make sure no one who has served our country is sleeping on the street.”
For years, veterans were left on the street because federal regulations prohibited them from accessing housing. Under the old broken policy, veterans’ disability and benefits were counted as income and it made many veterans ineligible for housing vouchers.
In 2024, Bass, in her role as chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Ad Hoc Committee on Homelessness led a delegation of more than 50 mayors from across the country to Washington, D.C. to successfully advocate for a change to federal policy so that no veteran would have to choose between housing and their earned benefits.
The city’s Housing Authority will lead the focused effort to ensure more eligible veterans secure a home for the holidays under the new program. Voucher issuance and unit placement operations have been reformed to save time and reduce burdens on veterans and property owners alike.
For veterans, the Housing Authority has improved application processes by consolidating forms and utilizing pre-fillable forms, enabling staff to issue vouchers faster. The authority also is actively leveraging federally approved waivers which Bass secured to speed up the steps from application to voucher receipt.
For property owners, the Housing Authority has mitigated bottlenecks by introducing parallel processing. Unit inspections, rental amount determinations, and owner document collection/finalization for payment are now happening simultaneously, which cuts down the time required for unit approval.
To support those changes, the Housing Authority has established a dedicated phone line for answering questions and signing up participants, along with a dedicated email address and online fillable forms.
“With a bold vision led by Mayor Bass and a truly integrated partnership, we’ve demonstrated that ending veteran homelessness is within our reach,” Housing Authority President and CEO Lourdes Castro Ramirez said. “By strategically removing barriers, increasing property owner participation, and combining housing with essential VA services, the ‘House Our Vets’ initiative helped nearly 400 veterans find a permanent place to call home, and the 99% retention rate is a testament that a nimble, cross-sector partnership is working for our veterans.
Samella Nickerson, a program participant, said the changes made by the city had helped her overcome barriers preventing her from obtaining housing.
“This program was much more than just a roof over my head;” Nickerson said. “I was offered full support and structure throughout the entire process. My team helped me secure safe and permanent housing and now I have the stability I need to focus on my future with full confidence.”
Earlier this year, “House Our Vets” launched an outreach campaign calling on property owners to rent their apartments to formerly homeless veterans. Stevie Wonder joined the cause, putting out the call on the radio and TV.
Property owners benefit from guaranteed rent payments while contributing to this patriotic effort. In the coming months, a new public campaign will launch to help veterans tap into housing vouchers and other resources.
The county Board of Supervisors also is taking steps to reduce the number of homeless veterans. On Nov. 18, the board approved a motion introduced by Supervisor Janice Hahn to establish a unified countywide framework to end veteran homelessness by expanding the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs’ role in coordinating veteran housing and support services.
“I think it is a collective sin … that those who put their lives on the line for us now find themselves sleeping on our streets,” Hahn said. “The good news is veteran homelessness is an area where we’ve made progress. Now, I believe ending veteran homelessness is within our reach — and it is my goal that with this new framework we can break down the bureaucratic barriers that have made it too hard for veterans to get the help they need and ensure the entire county system and our partners in the state and the VA are finally rowing in the same direction.”
Hahn’s motion builds on work launched in early 2023, when the board declared a local emergency on homelessness and instructed the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and the chief executive office to identify barriers that limit the county’s ability to effectively serve veterans.
“With the continued investment and determination from the Board of Supervisors and continued support from our fellow county departments including our new Homeless Services and Housing Department, we will have the opportunity to develop the framework needed to achieve an effective end to veteran homelessness as defined by the federal government,” said Jim Zenner, director of the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.
According to the most recently published estimates, 3,050 veterans are experiencing homelessness — a notable improvement from recent years. But despite this progress, coordination with state and federal partners, including CalVet and the VA, confirmed that significant barriers persist, including fragmented service delivery, uncoordinated entry points, inconsistent eligibility requirements and documentation challenges that slow or block access to housing.
The motion aims directly at these gaps, creating a stronger, more coordinated system designed to remove these obstacles and accelerate progress.
“No veteran in Los Angeles County should experience homelessness,” said Sarah Mahin, director of the county Department of Homeless Services and Housing. “This motion by the Board of Supervisors marks a hopeful and strategic turning point in our countywide efforts to coordinate our resources to better reach our goal of ending homelessness among veterans.”.
The issues affecting all homeless veterans fall most heavily on Black and Latino veterans in high-need communities such as Compton, Inglewood, East Los Angeles and South Gate, where higher unemployment, elevated poverty and disability rates, and limited access to VA health services compound the challenges.
