NWWNC funds Village for Vets to support veterans experiencing homelessness
The West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center provides services to veterans and is located in West LA. The North Westwood Neighborhood Council voted to give up to $5,000 in funding to Village for Vets, a nonprofit organization supporting veterans in Los Angeles who are at risk of or currently experiencing homelessness with services such as meals. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Brooke Tegethoff
April 11, 2022 3:30 p.m.
The North Westwood Neighborhood Council funded a nonprofit organization Wednesday to help veterans experiencing homelessness move into housing.
The NWWNC voted to provide up to $5,000 to Village for Vets, a nonprofit organization that supports veterans in the Los Angeles area, to distribute 160 moving kits to veterans transitioning to permanent supportive housing, said Andrew Lewis, vice president of the NWWNC. The kits will include food and other essentials, Lewis added.
According to the organization’s website, Village for Vets provides services such as the distribution of meals and financial aid to veterans who are at risk of or are currently experiencing homelessness in the greater LA area.
Mary McGuire, executive director of Village for Vets, said the organization’s goal is to address the issue of veterans who are unhoused in LA.
“We believe that our veterans are deserving of all the assistance we can give them. They sacrificed to serve our country and put themselves in harm’s way to protect this country, and they deserve our protection now,” McGuire said.
She added that the NWWNC first funded Village for Vets in 2021 to help the organization provide food for veterans living in tents in an area that would later become a tiny shelter community located at the West LA Veterans Affairs campus. According to Village for Vets, the organization has provided dozens of tiny shelters for veterans seeking permanent housing.
Lewis said supporting local organizations like Village for Vets is a key aim of the NWWNC. Lewis added that he believes homelessness is a key issue in Los Angeles, and veteran homelessness is an important aspect of that.
McGuire added that Village for Vets has also hosted a variety of wellness events for veterans between October and December to encourage them to obtain vaccinations.
“The wellness events specifically were to help veterans who were potentially feeling isolated due to the pandemic, who were not very aware of the services that are available to them and the community that’s available to them,” McGuire said.
McGuire said Village for Vets also provides veterans with replacements for driver’s licenses, social security cards and other forms of identification. She added that the organization helps veterans assemble all the necessary documents for moving into permanent housing.
While the NWWNC currently supports Village for Vets with funding, Lewis said he hopes the NWWNC can be more involved in the future through volunteering efforts.
“I’d love to see what volunteer opportunities they have available for our UCLA community and our council and just ways that we can step up and go beyond just a grant because it takes a lot more than that, although that’s a good starting place,” he said.
Furkan Yalcin, president of the NWWNC, said the council would be open to providing more funding in the future and that he hopes to continue working with the organization.
“We’re right next to the VA (Veterans Affairs Center). So this veteran community is a very important community for us to make sure that they’re being supported,” Yalcin said.
