Village for Vets Provides 25 Tiny Shelters for Homeless Veterans at the West LA VA Campus

LOS ANGELES, November 4, 2021 - Today Village for Vets, a non-profit organization filling critical gaps in services for homeless and at-risk veterans, announced they have provided 25 tiny shelters for homeless veterans on the West LA VA campus (GLAVAHS) with support from their generous partner GHC Housing Partners. Change Reaction, a supporter of Village for Vets Emergency Fund since the onset of Covid-19, also pledged $100,000 to assist those veterans as they move into permanent housing. 

Veterans who are eligible to move into the tiny shelters are enrolled in the VA’s Care Treatment and Rehabilitation Program (CTRS). CTRS provides homeless veterans with wraparound services including three meals a day, showers, bathrooms and laundry, as well as medical and mental health treatment and housing and employment assistance. Village for Vets has been coordinating the meals at this program with the partnership of Brentwood School and UCLA since last year.

“With this generous gift we have moved from a village of people helping veterans into a true village for veterans. These tiny shelters will provide warmth and stability to our homeless veterans and allow them to live with dignity while VA staff and other service providers help them to secure their long term home,” said Marcie Polier Swartz, founder of Village for Vets. “We are thrilled that when that time comes, thanks to Change Reaction, we’ll be able to support them in successfully making that transition.” 

“We greatly appreciate the generosity and assistance of Village for Vets, GHC Housing Partners and Change Reaction,” said Dr. Steven Braverman, Director, VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System. “These Tiny Shelters will enable us to expand our services at our Low-Barrier-To-Entry CTRS site and help more Veterans to transition from street homelessness to permanent supportive housing.”

“The Change Reaction has been providing direct grants to help veterans with housing through Village for Vets for the past year,” said Gregory Perlman, CEO of GHC Housing and Founder of the Change Reaction. “GHC Housing is honored to provide this necessary housing for our veterans and thank Village for Vets and the VA for making it happen.”

Village for Vets will continue to work with the community and donors to provide 40 more tiny homes for veterans in need. Please visit villageforvets.org for more information. 

About Village for Vets

Village for Vets fills gaps in critical services for homeless and at-risk veterans on their journey to stability and independence, providing meals, emergency grants, support for basic needs, and links to additional services. In the four years since it was founded, Village for Vets has grown tenfold, expanding from providing a few dozen sandwiches to ease the out-of-pocket burden on a VA case manager, to a dozen programs in partnership with major homeless- and veteran-service organizations in Los Angeles. Village for Vets has provided nearly 60,000 meals to homeless and at-risk veterans, nearly $300K in emergency financial assistance, and an array of other services to veterans in need in greater Los Angeles.

About Change Reaction 

Founded in 2019 by Greg and Jodi Perlman, The Change Reaction is a platform of high impact direct giving focused on meeting the basic needs of hardworking Angelenos. With a growing network of over 500 social workers, nurses, teachers, faith leaders and so many others dedicated to making a difference in the lives of the people they serve The Change Reaction’s group of Los Angeles based donors are using their wealth to lift up Los Angeles, one Angeleno at a time.

About GHC Housing Partners

GHC Housing Partners is one of the country’s largest affordable housing owners and operators with over 10,000 affordable units in 16 states. With over 30 years of experience and offices in Sherman Oaks, CA, Cleveland, OH, and Greenville, SC , GHC Housing sets the industry standards for providing the highest quality housing and services for its residents.

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