Trump pledged to house 6,000 homeless vets. His budget funds zero

After returning from Iraq in 2009, Vincent Tourville experienced combat PTSD and became angry and out of control. He tried to escape his problems by traveling from Maine to California, stopping at truck stops and drinking while begging for money. He eventually reached the West LA Veterans Affairs Campus, where he said the support saved his life. He began with a safe parking program that allowed him to sleep in his car, receive a hot meal, and leave in the morning. He then progressed to sleeping in a bed without questions, later to a room requiring sobriety. VA staff diagnosed him, helped him obtain disability benefits, and provided an apartment for him and his two-year-old son. He remains grateful while noting serious issues on campus, including infestations, open drug use, and prostitution.

"“I went from truck stop to truck stop, just drinking and just begging for money and didn't have any, and just whatever it takes to get from Portland, Maine to LA,” he says. “And I finally made it to Venice Beach and I just sat there and I felt like I accomplished something. But I had no idea where I was going or what I was gonna do. I ended up at the VA.”"

"“I went from sleeping on the beach and sleeping in my car, to a safe parking program,” he says. “That was the first step: a program where he parked on campus and slept in his car, got one hot meal and drove out in the morning. Next he moved into a program where he could sleep in a bed, no questions asked. Then it was a room in a building, but he needed to be drug- and alcohol-free.”"

"“Along the way VA staff got him diagnosed, helped him get his disability benefits, and finally, an apartment for him and his 2-year-old son. “I'm still grateful. And it's such a conflicting feeling, because they saved my life,” he says.”"

"“He's conflicted, because the West LA Campus, for all its progress helping vets like Tourville, has some serious challenges. Cockroaches have infested the building Tourville lives in. He's found them in his son's crib. There's open drug use and prostitution. “You can't come in demanding something when you're asking for help, but if you're part of this big organization that has”"

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