Downey's vision for American Legion property contradicts L.A. County's

Preliminary plans call for a veterans facility at the American Legion’s Hollydale Post No. 723, but it’s not clear whether the development will be a temporary shelter or long-term housing. Photo by Alex Dominguez

DOWNEY - A big question hangs over a project that may very well likely erect itself in the current American Legion 723 Hollydale location: is it just another homeless shelter?

The property, located at 11269 Garfield Ave., lies within Downey city limits and is owned by Los Angeles County.

Downey officials are eyeing the location as an opportunity to establish a temporary housing development to help honorably-discharged military veterans who find themselves in need after the conclusion of their service.

However, LA County officials have said otherwise, instead saying that the project is intended for long-term residency.

The project garnered significant negative attention from South Gate residents near the potential project, who have voiced concerns about a homeless shelter. They fear its establishment would bring significant safety issues to their neighborhoods while not affecting Downey’s residents.

A South Gate woman protests a potential veterans housing development. Her shirt reads, “Build it in your own neighborhood.” Photo by Claudia Gomez

However, Mayor Pro Tem Rick Rodriguez has pushed back on these claims, describing the project as a “veterans transitional housing location.” He acknowledged that that homeless veterans could be housed at the development, but insisted the proposed project is “not specifically for homeless, it’s for veterans.”

Instead, Rodriguez says that veterans who would arrive at the complex could receive therapy, job training and other services, and would be limited to a stay of between nine and 12 months.

“Our goal is to relaunch them into civilian life with proper training,” said Rodriguez. “We give them a rifle at 18 and we train them to defend America and go around the world…We can train them to be a soldier, but we can’t take care of them when they get back? That doesn’t make sense to me.”

Without a strong support system, returning veterans run the risk of facing other problems, such as having nowhere to go, no job, and no way to transfer their acquired skills, Rodriguez added.

L.A. County’s plans include 60-80 units of long-term housing for homeless veterans. Photo by Alex Dominguez.

The project is that of LA County and Supervisor Janice Hahn. Officials with Hahn’s office said she is committed to working closely with the city of Downey, although details of the project seem to have been lost in translation between parties.

In an email to the Downey Patriot, Hahn’s communications director, Liz Odendahl, said the supervisor would like to build 60 to 80 affordable, long-term housing apartments for formerly homeless veterans, where they could potentially live “indefinitely.”

“In this country we pride ourselves on honoring our veterans with a national holiday, by saluting them at sporting events, and allowing them to board planes early—and yet we allow thousands of veterans to sleep on our sidewalks every night,” said Hahn. “There is no greater way to honor a veteran who has risked their life for our freedoms than ensuring they have a safe place to live when they return home.

“I have seen how successful these types of projects have been in other areas of the county. When it is finally built, it will not only improve public safety, it will be a beautiful addition to this neighborhood.”

The project is still in the planning stages with no concrete timeline, however, the county hopes to have more plans fleshed out within the coming months, officials said.