Dear Friend,

On Veterans Day, we honor the brave people who have protected and served our country.

But everywhere you look, walking through downtown Los Angeles, you can see how our government and policymakers have failed those we claim to honor today.

US Army veterans make up 7% of the general population, but an almost-double rate of 13% of people experiencing homelessness. If we want to truly honor those who serve our country, we need to provide veterans with the full resources they deserve—healthcare, housing, education, and gun reform.

The City of LA has a $1.3B annual homelessness budget. $1.3B/$24,000 annual rent = 54,166 housed people.

LA City has roughly 41,980 people experiencing homelessness.

Where is all that money going? Why is the city wasting so much money on temporary fixes? 

As I’ve always said, the solution to homelessness is permanent supportive housing and permanent supportive resources. Not criminalizing the unhoused.

Local, city, state, and federal governments need to work together to provide housing for all. We absolutely have the resources to get everyone housed, but those resources have been misallocated, misused, and have not resulted in getting people housing.

We have to understand that many of our soldiers enlist because of economic circumstances. When the economy is weak, army enlistment grows.

I support the American military and our veterans, but I do not support the use of might to undermine the sovereignty of other nations.

I will never vote to invade another country because we think it is our job to control global power, and especially not because we believe another nation has weapons of mass destruction, when we ourselves are unwilling to disarm.

In our evolving world, the United States needs to be a leader through diplomacy and collaboration, not through force.

If you want a powerful anti-war advocate in Congress, I respectfully ask that you donate to my campaign. We have just TWO DAYS left to hit our May fundraising goal, and rely on the power of small individual donors to get the message out to my community.

Thank you for your support. I know our community here in Los Angeles is ready for change, and I’m ready to deliver.

Sincerely,

Maebe Pudlo