Veterans Row
Veterans Row was a block in Los Angeles where a concentration of United States military veterans who are experiencing homelessness were living in an encampment until it was disbanded in November 2021.[1][2][3]
Background
[edit]In 2020, Los Angeles County was home to 64,000 people who are experiencing homelessness, 4,000 of them military veterans.[4][5] In April 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs started a tent-city as an emergency shelter for military veterans who are experiencing homelessness. The camp was located on the grounds of the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center (WLAVA), a medical campus in Brentwood, Los Angeles run by the Department of Veterans Affairs.[1][2][6]
Encampment
[edit]After a donation of tents by conservative activist group Judicial Watch was rejected by the Department of Veterans Affairs due to the tents being too large, the tents were given directly to veterans who used them to establish Veterans Row on San Vicente Boulevard right outside the VA medical center.[6] Due to a COVID-19 related guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control, Los Angeles County had suspended encampment cleanups known as "sweeps" that normally forced people to move their tents.[3] The encampment became a focal point for homelessness in Los Angeles and was visited by mayoral candidates, U.S. House Representative Karen Bass, and United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough.[7]
Media coverage
[edit]In 2023 KCRW produced an eight episode podcast reporting on the encampment titled City of Tents: Veterans Row.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Scott, Anna (March 15, 2023). "4,000 veterans live unhoused in LA County. 'City of Tents' explores Veterans Row". NPR. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ a b c Regardie, Jon (February 17, 2023). "What Really Happened Inside Veterans Row, Brentwood's Homeless Encampment". Los Angeles. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ a b Nusca, Andrew (June 2024). "Who Killed Andre Butler?". Long Lead. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ Scott, Anna (February 15, 2023). "Ep. 2 How Did We Get Here?". KCRW. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ Kalofonos, Ippolytos; McCoy, Matthew (March 18, 2023). "Purity, Danger, and Patriotism: The Struggle for a Veteran Home during the COVID-19 Pandemic". Pathogens. 12 (3): 482. doi:10.3390/pathogens12030482. PMC 10052946. PMID 36986403.
- ^ a b Braslow, Samuel (July 10, 2020). "Inside Veterans Row, the Tent City That's Sprung Up Outside the VA". Los Angeles. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
- ^ Martinez, Christian; Oreskes, Benjamin (October 20, 2021). "VA says it will house homeless veterans who are camped around its West L.A. campus". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 30, 2024.