Until every veteran has an ID...

Dear Friends,

A lot of research, discussion, and other considerations went into our decision to spend 2022 advocating for #FreeIDsForVets. This prep work included reading about Veterans Row, an encampment of about 40 homeless veterans on a sidewalk outside the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Just this week, we came across this update, which is mostly good news but also speaks to why our campaign is necessary.

Unsurprisingly, the article doesn't mention IDs, despite the fact that the unhoused are the least likely to possess valid ID. But the article does mention "rental vouchers designated for needy veterans [that] regularly go unallocated in LA." It then explains that "Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority is working with VA officials to speed the process of getting vouchers into veterans’ hands." We started doing some digging on what's required in order to get a voucher but the VA website and other websites with pertinent information are not easily navigable and redirect the user from one page to another. However, we were able to find instructions for applying for rental assistance and were again unsurprised to see this:

We said it when we launched this campaign back in November and we'll keep saying it:



We're changing the conversation and together, we're going to change veterans' lives.