Veterans stunned by VA plans to build hundreds of 8-by-8ft sheds in California for ex-service members to live in
Source: msn/The Independent
8h
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has sparked anger after unveiling plans to build hundreds of “tiny homes”, which campaigners said were little more than sheds, on its West Los Angeles campus. The move, which comes after veterans successfully sued the agency to force major housing expansion on the site, is designed to solve homelessness among ex service members, but has been criticized as only offering them temporary accommodation.
VA officials revealed the proposal during a court hearing this week, describing the small structures as an initial step toward complying with a federal order requiring the agency to create thousands of new temporary and permanent housing units for unhoused veterans. But the veterans behind the lawsuit say the plan falls far short of what they intended.
One of their attorneys, Roman Silberfeld, told the court there was a “disconnect” between what the plaintiffs had asked for and what the VA is now proposing, noting that “they talk about the sheds. We never talked about that,” the LA Times reports. The VA has already placed more than 100 of the 8‑by‑8‑foot units on the campus to house veterans who had been living in a nearby encampment.
But these structures, increasingly used as quick‑build homelessness shelters, have long drawn criticism for being cramped, hard to navigate for people with mobility issues, and unsuitable for long‑term stays. VA counsel Robert Fleck told the court the VA has sufficient funds to complete the temporary housing by the end of this year, but not the permanent housing, The Times added.
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-nz/society-culture-and-history/social-issues/veterans-stunned-by-va-plan-for-hundreds-of-tiny-sheds-in-california/ar-AA1UKM9v
Hoovervilles
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Just a little bigger than a coffin.
I guess that's all the "suckers and losers" warrant for their devotion to the country and constitution.
(you know I HAD to do this
)
that we are about to get hit with here in the Philly area, and states north and south!!! 
I am a complete wuss when it comes to cold weather. It was 60 and rainy all day, and that had me shivering.
I need my warm sunshine and balmy sea breeze.
for those Santa Anas and wildfires (all that rain is gonna spur a lot of fresh undergrowth that could burn). But it's still miraculous that for the first time in years, no county in the state is in a drought for the first time in a couple decades - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10143596177 
How is this even manageable? Nobody has room for anything in these little huts. Where do they park their cars? Oh I see, they don't have cars. So where is the public transportation? How do handicapped veterans in wheelchairs maneuver in these tiny rooms? What if someone has to call an ambulance? What if there's a fire, flood or some other emergency?
We have questions ....
And there is a huge VA Hospital & Medical Center on site, at 11301 Wilshire Boulevard, just steps from the tiny homes, and it has mental health services:
https://www.va.gov/greater-los-angeles-health-care/locations/west-los-angeles-va-medical-center/
The location is perfect for homeless vet housing. But the housing should be decent furnished high rise apartments, not sheds. The sheds are not the best use of that valuable land, and not how a human being should live. They'd get a lot more vets housed, and with a lot more dignity, if they built a couple high rise apartment buildings.
These sheds are only 64 square feet. A typical bachelor/studio apartment is 300 to 600 square feet.