VA to conduct Los Angeles town hall meeting

The Department of Veterans Affairs will conduct a town hall meeting, April 10, for local veterans at Patriotic Hall in Los Angeles. From 9:30 a.m. until noon, VA officials will address growing concerns from the tenants who occupy space on the West Los Angeles Vet Center campus.

Issues regarding the facility's land use agreement, which leases land to private business owners, were brought to light during an American Legion town hall meeting last month at Hollywood Post 43.

Originally intended to serve as a home for disabled veterans, the West LA campus has leased its land to several private businesses while turning away veterans in need. The American Legion has protested this misuse of VA property since the 1980s.

The American Legion testified to Congress on Feb. 10 that it “supports a publicly transparent, Enhanced-Use Leasing program (for the Department of Veterans Affairs) and believes strongly that the leasing agreements must conform to priority services that meet the needs of the veterans community.”

Ed Lilley, the Legion’s assistant director of health, testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations at a hearing that examined deficiencies in VA’s land-use agreements with the private sector – specifically in the case of its campus in West Los Angeles.

Friday's meeting is open to the public. All veterans and family members are encouraged to attend. Legion representatives will be on hand to gather feedback from VA officials and veterans.