John Plahovinsak
In the Sept. 19, 2024 issue of The Clermont Sun newspaper, an opinion editorial was published entitled, “Vietnam Vet Helps Los Angeles Vets Get Justice.”
The article dealt with Federal District Judge David Carter ordering the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center (West LA VAMC) to begin building 750 units of temporary housing for homeless veterans and 1,200 units of permanent housing by 2030.
On Vietnam Veteran Judge Carter’s order, builders had been ready to begin moving the first 100 units of modular temporary housing onto the West LA VAMC campus in November.
However, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) jointly requested a stay of Judge Carter’s order. Judge Carter denied the stay, and the VA is now appealing his denial to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Judge Carter challenged Justice Department lawyer Cody Knapp, on Nov. 7, 2024. Attorney Knapp was representing the VA and HUD, on why the VA was appealing to block the move to house more homeless veterans.
A former Vietnam Veteran, Judge Carter rejected Attorney Knapp’s argument that the VA lacked the funding to build the initial 100 units of modular temporary housing.
“This is harmful, Cody,” Carter said, according to the court transcript. “This is not the legacy I think your agency wants to write, is it?” Carter added. “You can’t break the iceberg with a hundred modulars and you’re claiming you don’t have money,” wrote Carter. “Is that really the legacy of this VA?”
“I truly believe veterans are going to die” if they are denied shelter, Carter concluded.
On Dec. 1, 2024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals extended a previously granted temporary stay requested by the West LA VA, at the end of November. The Court of Appeals set a hearing on the matter for April of 2025, effectively halting any construction of new housing ordered by Judge Carter, until then at the absolute earliest.
The stay puts a stop, at least for the next four (4) months, to Judge Carter’s ruling in a major lawsuit against the VA brought by veterans and advocates for unhoused veterans. In September of 2024, Carter ruled that the VA “has not made good on its promise to build housing for veterans.”
The September ruling was a huge victory for advocates for unhoused veterans, who had argued that the VA wasn’t doing enough with its 388-acre campus to help veterans in need. The lawsuit itself had been about several matters regarding the campus, housing being one of them.
Alongside the ordered housing, Judge Carter also voided and invalidated several leases that involved land on the campus, including those held by oil companies and the University of California, Los Angeles.
After Judge Carter issued his ruling, the VA argued over the legality of his decision, the timeline and the costs. Carter continued to push the VA to immediately take action following his September ruling.
In October, he ordered the plaintiffs to present options for modular housing and for the VA to pick one. Carter had revised the number of temporary housing units ordered to be built but said that 200 needed to be immediately built because it is an emergency situation with the coming winter season.
The VA said in a prepared statement that it took the temporary stay order to the Ninth Circuit because Judge Carter’s orders would “negatively impact veterans and their families.”
“The court exceeded its legal authority, and its orders would prevent VA from fulfilling our mission to end Veteran homelessness by diverting critical resources from efforts that are proven to get Veterans off the streets and save lives — including VA health care, permanent housing support, legal assistance, job training, and much more,” the statement from a VA spokesman continued.
The VA noted that veteran homelessness in Los Angeles has dropped 23 percent in 2024. The spokesman also said that the VA currently building housing separate from the units ordered by Carter and is “executing a plan that is both working for – and based on input from – Veterans and their families.”
According to the VA, there are currently more than 3,000 homeless veterans within Los Angeles County. The VA is currently building 1,200 housing units on the West LA campus as part of its master plan for redevelopment, itself a result of a previous lawsuit.
So far, only 307 housing units of those are open to homeless veterans. According to the VA, only 750 housing units of the 1,200 housing units will be open by the end of 2025.
My Opinion: It has been very discouraging to witness that the VA, which should be fighting for veterans, unfortunately is fighting the temporary construction of 100 units of housing for homeless veterans on property that is supposed to be dedicated for veterans.
I think that is commendable that the VA has a plan to construct 1,200 housing units for veterans in the future (by the end of 2025), but really only 307 housing units have been constructed, as of September of 2024.
If my arithmetic is correct, according to VA statistics, 1,800 homeless veterans will still be living on the streets of Los Angeles by the end of 2025 after the VA builds its planned 1,200 units of housing. And, yet, the VA is fighting the construction of 100 units of housing.
Perhaps, the new Presidential team should address this situation in January of 2025 as their first priority and appoint Judge David Carter, a Vietnam veteran, in charge of the West Los Angeles VA administration.
BioSketch: John Plahovinsak is a retired 32-year Army veteran, who served from 1967 to 1999. He is a Board Member of Chapter #649, of the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA), and he can be contacted at: plahovinsak@msn.com.