Housing is Healing is a Battle

Judge’s opinion in Powers v. McDonough declares leases at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Soldier’s Home “void”, prescribing housing for veterans instead.

Ruth

and

Zachary Ellison

Sep 11, 2024

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ILLUSTRATION of an imagined veteran community at the West LA VA with rows of permanent private cottages, accessible sidewalks and lush landscaping with plenty of color and shade.

“The VA is doing everything possible to help veterans and their families remain in their homes…”
—Veteran Sarah Kallassy in a video that appeared on the US Department of Veterans Affairs’ official YouTube channel three weeks ago.

On Friday, September 6, U.S. District Judge David O. Carter’s decisive opinion in Powers v. McDonough firmly reiterated the legal foundations that grant disabled veterans the right to housing on Veterans Affairs property and the right to not have their benefits counted as income for the purposes of receiving federal housing vouchers. In the 125-page decision, Carter, himself a Vietnam combat veteran, chastises the West LA Veterans Affairs Medical Center “WLAVA” for not making enough “HUD-VASH” (Housing and Urban Development Department-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing voucher) referrals to The HACLA, the City’s Housing Authority. Most importantly, Judge Carter declares “void” leases made to the University of California, Los Angeles, the Brentwood School, a parking company, and an oil drilling operation.

In response to the ruling that these leases did not “principally benefit” disabled veterans, both UCLA and Brentwood School issued statements to Los Angeles Times journalist Doug Smith that they were in fact legal; both stated that they were reviewing the opinion. The decision sets up a September 25th hearing for “injunctive relief” that will develop an “exit strategy” for the voided leases. Carter ordered the VA to immediately begin planning for the construction of an additional 1,800 permanent housing units for veterans requiring medical care, including those permanently disabled, and 750 temporary units. Carter sets a timeline of 6 years for the completion of new construction and 12–18 months for temporary units. Controversially, Carter also ordered the “active construction” of a project known in the VA’s 2022 master plan for the sprawling property as the “Town Center,” which would include retail and grocers, as well as a “Wellness Center.”

ILLUSTRATION imagining of Veterans Row with two rows of tents decorated with patriotic American flags

Los Angeles’ Westside VA property, once known as a National Home for Disabled Volunteer Soldiers, houses around 100 buildings and is presently home to hundreds of veterans, many of whom are living in inadequate temporary shelters deployed in response to “Veterans Row." Veterans Row was a makeshift tent community on San Vicente Boulevard that was previously ignored by the VA. Sadly, two veterans died on the WLAVA’s version of downtown’s Skid Row.

Now that the veterans are on WLAVA property, they no longer live

in a place not meant for human habitation

as the HEARTH Act of 2012 defines “Category 1” homelessness. They are also no longer unsheltered, having upgraded patriotic tents for “Pallet Shelters.” But, as Carter describes, they have experienced fires as well as rodent problems in their inadequate tiny sheds. The shelters were supposed to be temporary solutions when they were first introduced two years ago, but they remain, and the City intends to spend $33M on 500 more, according to the 18th Homeless Emergency Report draft.

ILLUSTRATION hundreds of colorful tiny homes with palm trees and purple mountains in the distance

Powers v. McDonough, filed by Public Counsel, lost over half of its plaintiffs due to skepticism about whether it would produce meaningful results. In the end, five plaintiffs, all disabled veterans representing a plaintiff class of unhoused veterans, prevailed against the VA. In a footnote, Carter stated there is a

pattern throughout this case of corporate and agency leadership hiding behind their employees

in reference to both UCLA and the VA led by U.S. Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough. McDonough is an appointee of President Joseph Biden and former Chief of Staff to President Barack Obama. Carter described some recent improvements by VA staff in services. The judge castigated a pattern since the 1970’s of management

infected by bribery, corruption, and the influence of the powerful and their lobbyists.

The lawsuit advanced through the court fairly quietly after simmering since November 2022. The timing of their filing comes one year after LA County Sheriffs displaced the unhoused, homeless veterans from their flag-adorned tents on the VA's outer sidewalks into “tiny houses” on-site. Veteran advocate Ryan Thompson (@nhdvs) and local activist Sennett Devermont highlighted in Instagram videos (@alwaysfilmthepolice) the case of one former plaintiff who, after being swept into pup tents and then tiny homes, was expelled for minor reasons and denied even the right to sleep in her car on the VA’s parking lots at night. The former plaintiff was subsequently separated from her daughter, who was moved to a facility in Lancaster, and this traumatic family separation was directly caused by the lack of accessible housing options at the WLAVA.

Carter’s opinion highlights the essential nature of access to the WLVA’s medical facilities and how traveling great distances, including from the VA’s facilities in Lancaster, is most certainly prohibitive to healing. The tiny shelters, operated by nonprofit Step-Up On Second, are being used for an average length of a year or more when the VA’s initial intention was for them to be used:

“for no longer than sixty to ninety days”.

The result has been the use of private process servers to evict those who don’t fully comply with program rules. We believe at least one veteran passed away in a tiny shed.

In last month’s trials over the VA, which started August 6th, there was no jury. Instead, advocates for each side, high-level federal employees, former County department executives, and ex-City commissioners took the stand to present “expert testimony” to Federal Judge David O. Carter, including real estate developer Randy Johnson as well as Steve Soboroff, known for developing Playa Vista, as well as leading Los Angeles’ Olympic Committee in 1984 and serving as President of the Los Angeles Board of Police Commissioners. Judge Carter oversees another questionable major case relating to homelessness, LA Alliance for Human Rights, which dominated headlines for years, much like his OC lawsuit, Orange County Catholic Worker, that came before it. The fall of nonprofit housing provider Skid Row Housing Trust into receivership linked the two cases through Soboroff’s former position at the Weingart Foundation, which had been keeping “The Trust” afloat.

As expert witnesses, Johnson and Soboroff and any associated business partners will be precluded from bidding on contracts that may result from the order to develop the 388 remaining undeveloped acres, as well as any land that may be recovered from the current, now terminated “Enhanced Use Leases” (EULs). Thompson expressed concern about the 6 years given by Judge Carter for the completion of housing construction on the property, which includes the existing Medical Center and developments on approximately 1,000 acres of prime real estate. Carter writes in the ruling, noting that the veterans have in essence been denied what is rightfully theirs, in reference to a quote from President Abraham Lincoln:

“They have borne the battle.”

The battle clearly isn’t over. For starters, the VA, which only recently completed an environmental impact statement (EIR) in 2019 for its 2022 Master Plan, faces tremendous environmental issues in relation to its close proximity to the 405 freeway as well as prior usage as a landfill for radiologic medical waste. The 562-page EIR, completed in compliance with the National Environmental Quality Act, factored less into the ruling than may have perhaps been expected given the concerns expressed by Thompson, among others, about housing quality and safety on the grounds.

For example, Carter ruled, after testimony from Los Angeles County Department of Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, that VA Buildings 401 and 402, one completed and one nearing completion, can be immediately occupied, despite a “hold” due to fears of potentially explosive methane emissions, writing:

The Court fails to understand how some unhoused veterans are precluded from moving into buildings that are ready for occupancy because they fall within the 1,000-foot radius, but other veterans can remain in existing housing that falls within the same radius.

Ferrer had allowed veterans to remain in existing buildings while a monitoring plan was developed. The ruling doesn’t touch on any sound or air quality issues related to proximity to the freeway, where presently tiny homes sit in close proximity. Whether a new EIR will need to be completed in relation to the newly ordered housing remains to be seen, but clearly remediation must be considered. Clearly, not all housing is equal!

The VA’s prior Master Plan had called for 1,200 new permanent units. Carter’s ruling expands upon that and also seeks to, at least seemingly, increase the units to 1,800 permanent units in total. During the interim, the VA has failed to meet the demand for housing by the estimated 3,000 homeless veterans in Los Angeles.

PIE CHART Inside Safe Veteran Status • Yes (62) • No (2,339) • Other (148) • Data CAO CPRA March 2024

LA has been termed by some to be the “nation’s capital for veteran homelessness,” and the cost has been born by the City of Los Angeles, along with other municipalities and the County of Los Angeles. According to Inside Safe data, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s signature operation to provide temporary shelter in motels, as of March 2024, had placed a total of 62 veterans. The results were 11.5% of those individuals reaching permanent housing, nearly 20% returning to homelessness, and 4.9% dying.

At least one successful veterans housing program in Echo Park, known as the "Billets,” was in fact outbid in 2019, and turned into a homeless shelter under a different operator at greater cost. According to Los Angeles Times journalist Gale Holland, the 72-bed program was terminated because:

“Other applicants were better able to meet VA’s funding criteria, which is designed to ensure resources are utilized in the most efficient manner possible.”

Residents were moved to a 500-bed shelter in the City of Bell despite objections from Volunteers of America, which operated the site in conjunction with Gateways Hospital. The site now appears to be used for private residential housing.

Veterans are able to apply for HUD-VASH vouchers, but Carter writes in his ruling:

“in practice, however, the HUD-VASH tenant-based voucher program in Los Angeles is rife with problems.”

Reports have emerged that these vouchers, which up to 50% of veterans struggle to use due to discrimination and lack of housing supply, are even being sold illegally at some sites. In response to a California Public Records Act request, the Los Angeles Police Department declined to provide records regarding arrests, citing “ongoing investigation.” LAPD PIO didn’t respond to a request for comment prior to publication. It’s unknown if federal law enforcement has joined LAPD in probing the misuse of this program. It’s no surprise though! For example, as Carter discovered regarding the misuse of the VA’s parking lots, during which $13 million was skimmed and two individuals were sentenced to prison, cash is king. Some have suggested simply giving cash to veterans, which would be more quickly translated into payment for potential landlords.

Carter also discovered that the VA had shortstaffed the HUD-VASH program. His ruling orders them

to provide at least 25 referrals to public housing agencies per week

and to reduce program dropouts, known as "skips,” by

50 percent within one (1) year of this order.

The judge also said he wants the VA to increase outreach efforts and banned any further leasing of the VA’s properties for programs that do not

principally benefit veterans and their families.

UCLA, outside of issuing free sports tickets to the VA, pays $300,000 annually to rent at the WLAVA since 2011 after the prior ruling; before that, they paid only $56,000 annually. The Brentwood School pays $875,000 annually for its lease. Brentwood School even generously donated 20 tents to the VA for use on asphalt that reached burning hot temperatures during the summer! The Brentwood School only grants usage of its facilities, including baseball fields, a swimming pool, and tennis courts in the early morning and late in the evening. The oil company paid only a small fraction of its revenues to an external nonprofit for veterans.

The offices of Mayor Karen Bass, City Attorney Hydee Feldstein-Soto, Councilmember Traci Park, and Katy Yaroslavsky did not respond to a request for comment on the opinion. Park and Yarsolavsky’s districts border the West LA VA. Park previously stated in 2023 that it’s the

responsibility of elected officials to collaborate on solutions and ensure that the city's thousands of homeless veterans have a secure and stable home.

A representative for LAHSA, the independent agency that oversees homelessness efforts across Los Angeles County, referred questions to the VA because

they are the best resource for detailed comments and insights on this matter.

The White House, through its All Inside initiative, has sought to reduce veteran homelessness by 25% by 2025. Bass has directed funding with the Mayor’s Fund to a partnership with U.S. Vets.

Whether the VA will be able to comply with the full ruling remains to be seen. Carter opined that VA has adequate funds, citing their $407 billion budget, which must be approved by Congress, in writing that it was not an

undue financial burden.

Carter also described how Brentwood School previously sought a carve-out to permit their lease, spending

nearly $1 million on lobbyists.

Both UCLA and Brentwood School’s leases expire in 2026; what happens next remains to be seen. Judge Carter, now 80 and a double alum of UCLA, will undoubtedly remain on the bench to oversee the ruling and is in otherwise good health, having taken a 6-hour tour in blue jeans and sneakers last month of the property. Carter declared during the proceedings, according to Doug Smith of the Los Angeles Times to a plaintiff’s expert witness: