West Los Angeles VA Homeless Veteran Treatment Facility Contract Awarded
Will House Sixty-Five Chronically Homeless Veterans
LOS ANGELES, CA – December 5, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has selected a contractor to seismically upgrade and renovate Building 209 on the north end of the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System (GLAHS), West Los Angeles campus. The contract was awarded today to Westport Construction Company in Arcadia, CA. This project will create approximately 190 construction jobs. Construction is scheduled to be completed in spring 2014.
“This renovation project builds on VA’s progress toward ending Veteran homelessness locally and across the country,” said GLA Director Donna M. Beiter, RN, MSN. “The West Los Angeles campus is a sacred place for Veterans to heal, and VA is committed to ensuring Veterans and their families receive the care and benefits they have earned.”
Under the leadership of Secretary Shinseki, VA put an aggressive plan into place in 2009 to end homelessness among Veterans in 2015, which, in collaboration with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other community partners, has directly contributed to a 12 percent decrease in the number of homeless Veterans in 2011.
When the renovation is complete, Building 209 will be used for a compensated work therapy/transitional residence program for approximately sixty-five homeless Veterans for whom previous recovery attempts have failed.
Veterans will be enrolled in either the Compensated Work Therapy (CWT) program to promote job-readiness and improve functional status. The program will focus on providing resident Veterans with training in daily life skills necessary to live effectively among others, to obtain and maintain gainful employment, to care for themselves in a healthy way, and to meet the Veterans’ reasonable life goals. The ultimate goal of the program is to transition participants into independent permanent housing in the community (i.e., their own apartments). Once Veterans are placed in permanent housing in the community, VA will continue providing active case management and additional services (mental health, medical, employment, and benefits
This project will provide approximately 51,500 square feet of space and contain approximately 65 units for Veterans undergoing treatment. Veterans will live in a mix of studio and one bedroom units during their treatment. One wing of the building has been specifically designated for women under treatment. Training planned for the resident Veterans include life skills such as cooking, shopping, and traveling to appointments. The renovation will allow VA to continue delivering world-class health care to Veterans in a seismically safe environment.
This initiative is part of the department’s program for infrastructure improvements for the Veterans healthcare system.
VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System is a Joint Commission accredited, complexity level 1a facility serving Veterans throughout Kern, Los Angeles, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties. The VA Medical Center is located in Los Angeles, California with two ambulatory care centers, and nine outpatient clinics.
Contact:
Los Angeles, CA 90073
(310) 268-3340
www.losangeles.va.gov
