Los Angeles VA Receives 20 Additional Tiny Shelters in Continued Effort to End Veteran Homelessness

A portion of West Los Angeles VA’s Care, Treatment and Rehabilitative Services (CTRS) initiative is being transitioned from tenting to tiny shelters. The CTRS initiative is a low-barrier-to-entry outreach program that provides homeless Veteran participants a safe and clean living area with regular access to medical care, behavioral health services, and housing services on the VA West LA campus.

All tiny shelters are provided through revocable license agreements between partner organizations and VA. These 20 shelters are being provided by Brentwood School.

“The tiny shelters are an important part of our comprehensive program offerings to address Veteran homelessness in Los Angeles and to meet the individual needs of the Veterans we are honored to serve.” said Dr. Steven Braverman, medical center director, VAGLAHS. “VA would like to thank Brentwood School for its partnership in bringing these additional tiny shelters to the West Los Angeles campus. The VA is dedicated to ending Veteran homelessness, which is why we continue to expand our Care, Treatment, and Rehabilitative Service initiative to include tiny shelters for homeless Veterans.”

The shelters come fully equipped with a bed and mattress, fire life safety equipment, and air conditioning and heating. The shelters provide additional privacy and protection from the elements, making participants more comfortable as they work with their case managers to receive the supportive and medical services available to them on campus.

“Brentwood School is a longstanding partner in the VA’s mission to support our nation’s Veterans. We are thrilled to provide tiny shelters for an additional 20 Veterans participating in CTRS, particularly in time for the holidays. We have worked closely with Veterans experiencing homelessness in our community over the past several years, including providing regular meals to Veterans participating in the CTRS initiative, and we hope that having a shelter—even a tiny one—will serve as a launching pad to help these 20 Veterans get their health and their lives back on track,” said Gennifer Yoshimaru, assistant head of school, Brentwood School. 

The CTRS team continues to prioritize Veterans for tiny shelter occupancy, based off their participation in the program, clinical need, housing voucher status, and housing goals. Veterans can either walk up to the CTRS area to participate in the program or be referred by VA staff. The VA also performs regular outreach to unsheltered Veterans around the greater Los Angeles area, helping to connect them to housing options and other VA services. The first three shelters, provided by AyZar Outreach and Mr. Ian Musa, arrived at the West LA campus October 6, and an additional 25 shelters, provided by Village for Vets and Change Reaction, arrived October 29.

If you know a homeless or at-risk Veteran who may need VA services, call the West LA campus Welcome Center at (310) 268-3269. Veterans in crisis should call 1 (800) 273-8255 and press 1. To learn more about our programs and services, visit www.losangeles.va.gov/ and click on Healthcare Services.

 

ABOUT VAGLAHS: VAGLAHS is one component of the VA Desert Pacific Healthcare Network (VISN22) offering services to Veterans residing in Southern California. VAGLAHS consists of two ambulatory care centers, a tertiary care facility and eight community-based outpatient clinics. VAGLAHS serves Veterans residing throughout five counties: Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura. There are approximately 1.4 million Veterans in the VAGLAHS service area. For more information, call (310) 268-3340 or visit us at www.losangeles.va.gov. Veterans in need can call the VA hotline toll-free at 877-4-AID-VET.  
 

ABOUT BRENTWOOD SCHOOL: Brentwood School is an independent K-12 coed day school with two campuses, located four blocks apart, in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles. The school’s Veterans Center for Recreation and Education provides a range of recreational, educational, vocational, and supportive opportunities to Veterans and their families. To learn more about Brentwood School, visit https://www.bwscampus.com/.

the Office of Communications, VAGLAHS

310-268-3340