One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
'It Took Me 10 Years To Get Here:' LA's Veterans Fight To Secure Housing
The VA's West L.A. offices
(
Libby Denkmann
/
LAist
)
Listen
17:40
Listen: 'It Took Me 10 Years To Get Here.' LA's Veterans Fight To Secure Housing
Topline:
Today, the How To LA team dives deeper into the hurdles veterans face to secure housing in L.A. Specifically, income limit restrictions, and how this leaves the most disabled veterans — those who need housing and services most — ineligible for most VA housing.
About this story: This is part two in a special two-part series about the veteran homelessness crisis in L.A. We speak to Edward Sotello, a 70% disabled veteran who was unhoused for more than a decade until he recently secured housing in one of the West L.A. VA's new units.
We also revisit Josh Petit, a formerly unhoused veteran we met in part 1 of this series. (If you haven't listened, go back to yesterday's episode!)
Who you'll hear from:
- Edward Sotello, formerly unhoused veteran who recently moved into an apartment on the West LA VA campus
- Josh Petit, formerly unhoused veteran currently living in a tiny home on the West LA VA campus
- Rob Reynolds, unhoused veteran advocate and formerly unhoused veteran
- Nick Gerda, unhoused communities reporter for LAist
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
