Inner City Law Center

Homeless Veterans Project Medical-Legal Partnership

Service Area: Los Angeles, California

The following program was awarded grants as part of the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s second 2020 Expedited Grants Portfolio, addressing urgent needs related to COVID-19.

Inner City Law Center’s (ICLC) Homeless Veterans Project Medical-Legal Partnership (MLP) at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center is an innovative, multi-disciplinary clinic providing effective, holistic healthcare to Veterans experiencing homelessness and addressing the health-harming legal needs of many homeless Veterans. ICLC’s MLP is a part of the VA’s Homeless Patient Aligned Care Team (H-PACT), which, in addition to lawyers from ICLC, includes primary care doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nursing staff, and patient advocates. Los Angeles has the unfortunate distinction of having more homeless veterans than anywhere else in the nation, and the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority documented a 12 percent increase in homelessness in 2019, with nearly 59,000 people experiencing homelessness every night. The COVID-19 pandemic presents an additional crisis, severely impacting the health and safety for veterans experiencing homelessness. This BWF grant will enable ICLC to provide civil legal aid for veterans served by the West LA VA Medical Center, to address social determinants of health and decrease barriers to secure housing.