President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to turn the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Campus into the nation’s largest center for homeless veteran housing and care, with the aim of accommodating 6,000 people in the coming years.
Why It Matters
According to a January 2024 point-in-time count from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), there were 32,882 veterans experiencing homelessness. The estimated number of homeless former military personnel across the country has declined by 55.6 percent since 2010.
What To Know
The executive order, signed by the president on May 9, directs the VA Secretary Doug Collins to establish the National Center for Warrior Independence at the Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles Campus.
The campus, which spans 388 acres, currently hosts a major regional hospital and medical offices for veterans.
In a press release issued on Friday, the VA said that parts of the campus are currently being leased to a “wealthy and exclusive” private school, private companies, as well as the University of California Los Angeles’ (UCLA) baseball team. In September 2024, a district judge ruled that leases to UCLA, Brentwood School and others on the VA property are illegal as they don’t principally serve veterans.
According to the White House, the new center will provide homeless veterans “the care, benefits, and services to which they are entitled.” The center will offer housing, substance abuse treatment, and support for reintegrating into the workforce.
The White House has set a goal of housing 6,000 homeless veterans at the center by 2028.
Funding previously allocated for housing or other services for illegal immigrants will now be redirected to “construct, establish, and maintain” the center.
“Today’s executive order will enable us to ensure VA’s West Los Angeles Campus is being used as intended: to benefit veterans,” the release reads. “Our goal is to turn the campus into a beacon of hope and a destination for homeless veterans from across the nation who can travel there to find housing and support and start their journey back to self-sufficiency.”
The VA also plans to create a medical center for former servicemen and women in New Hampshire—the only state in the contiguous U.S. without such a facility.
What People Are Saying
VA Secretary Doug Collins: “Under President Trump, VA is implementing a host of important reforms to improve care and benefits for our nation’s heroes. This executive order builds on the progress we’ve made so far and puts us on a path to fixing some of the department’s most vexing problems.”
The White House said in a statement: “President Trump strongly believes that every veteran deserves our gratitude, and that the federal government should treat veterans like the heroes they are.”
What Happens Next
The VA has 120 days, or until early September, to present an action plan to the White House, according to the order.
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