Employee Spotlight
March 10, 2022
Matthew McGahran, LCSW
Chief of Community Engagement and Reintegration Services (CERS)
VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System
Q: How long have you worked for VA?
A: I have been working for VA for almost 18 years now.
I’ve held many jobs with VA since being hired in 2004. Notably, I was the Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Coordinator for the VA Tampa Health Care System from 2009 to 2012. I was also the National Clinical Program Manager for the National Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program Office from 2012 to 2015. Then, I went on to serve as the Chief of Social Work for the VA Philadelphia Health Care System for about 5 years. Being Chief of Social Work was a nice change to give me more hands-on management experience.
While I did work a few other roles in a few other cities, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I became the Chief of Community Engagement and Reintegration Services (CERS) at the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System.
Q: What does your current job entail?
A: I’m the Chief of all of VA’s homeless programs in Greater Los Angeles, including five surrounding counties. We serve a large area – nearly 20,000 square miles!
Los Angeles is basically the homeless Veteran capital of the country, with approximately 10% of all Veterans experiencing homelessness living here. To serve these Veterans, we have a wide range of programs such as Housing and Urban Development-VA Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), GPD, Veterans Justice Outreach, Homeless Patient Aligned Care Teams (HPACT), Community Resource and Referral Centers (CRRC), Homeless Veteran Community Employment Services, and Compensated Worth Therapy. Helping to run these programs requires a workforce of about 450.
Q: What makes Los Angeles unique from other communities?
A: To tell you the truth, I think I came upon it by accident. When I first started working in mental health settings, I had an interest in working with people who experienced trauma and struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder. When I started working with VA, I was hired by the local homeless program. And for me, everything changed.
The Veterans experiencing homelessness here face a lot of barriers that are common to other communities. We just have more of them. A lot more of them.
The housing costs here are expensive and there’s not enough affordable housing. It’s competitive to get access to rental units. The demand is so high, and the supply is so limited.
We also have a gap in emergency shelter resources. Our long terms goals are, of course, to get every Veteran experiencing homelessness into permanent housing. But in the near term, we’re also focused on increasing the availability of emergency shelters.
Not only that but, compared to other communities, its unfortunately easier to be homeless here. The weather is fantastic. It’s also very tolerant community for people with mental illness and substance use. Not only does Los Angeles not criminalize homelessness, but since the pandemic, there have been less actions to clear out encampments. For better or worse, this has often led to permanent encampments.
Q: In October 2021, Secretary McDonough made a commitment to house 500 Veterans in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Not only did the community accomplish it, but you exceeded it. How did you accomplish that?
A: I should note that our commitment to housing Veterans in our community isn’t new. This has always been our goal: to end Veteran homelessness.
And yes, we exceeded the Secretary’s goal and reached 705 transitional and permanent placements.
What really helped this time was the Secretary’s commitment and how it brought all the community partners together, marching in lockstep to the same drum. It was all hands on deck.
From that, we were singularly focused on housing Veterans, getting them off the street and into transitional or permanent housing.
Everyone was speaking the same language. Everyone helped by streamlining processes. We held housing fairs. Some property managers waived requirements to help process quicker. We were able to get additional flexible resources.
All hands on deck.
It makes a big difference when we get this much attention and enthusiasm. This is a tough job, and although we house hundreds of Veterans each year, it takes a toll. So, it was very nice to have all of our leadership in this endeavor. Our teams felt inspired and were appreciative of the recognition.
Q: What is a myth or misconception about people experiencing homelessness that you want to address for fellow VA employees or others reading this?
A: I think the idea that Veterans are “service resistant” is a very harmful myth. Some Veterans may seem to be service resistant at first, but once we engage with them respectfully and talk plainly about their options and preferences, they come around.
Likewise, the idea that some Veterans choose to be homeless isn’t accurate. There are a lot of extenuating circumstances that often don’t get conveyed to the public.
Q:What’s your “why” for this work?
A: This is the most vulnerable group of Veterans. The most vulnerable of our neighbors. Because of their time in the military, they may have injuries that lead to homelessness. And we have a responsibility to take care of them.
I’m the first to admit that I’m a bleeding-heart social worker. I go where I feel that I can do the most good. Veterans experiencing homelessness are part of a community of people with a lot of challenges, and for some reason I’ve been effective in working with them.
I take this seriously, and I don’t intend to stop.
