In what marks a decisive move to tackle homelessness among veterans, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has rolled out a policy shift increasing housing eligibility for veterans, a change that Mayor Bass of Los Angeles and other mayors have been advocating for. According to a statement obtained by the Mayor's office, this adjustment clarifies that veterans shouldn’t be barred from supportive housing on the grounds of their disability status.
This decision comes on the heels of persistent efforts from the U.S. Conference of Mayors Task Force on Homelessness and several city leaders who envisioned a scenario in which our nation’s veterans need not weigh their basic shelter against the disability benefits they've earned, Mayor Bass emphasized that “Veterans who have served our country should never have to choose between housing and their disability benefits,”. The revised policy enables veterans to qualify initially at 80% of Area Median Income rather than the previous 50%, which, combined with excluding service-connected disability benefits from income calculations, substantially broadens veterans' access to housing.
Mayor Bass has been at the forefront of these developments, securing agreements and partnerships like the ALLINside initiative aimed at addressing unsheltered homelessness, progress has been tangible. With the Los Angeles Housing Department anticipated to align with HUD's new guidelines, the Mayor's vigorous strategy for homelessness comes into sharper focus. This is congruent with the recent 17% decrease in Los Angeles street homelessness, a reversal of the six-year trend.
The collaboration and urgency imposed by Mayor Bass since declaring the local homelessness emergency are palpable – tent encampments have been dismantled, thousands of Angelenos have been housed, and now with HUD’s amended policies, the grim choice facing veterans between stability and sustenance has been eliminated.
