[img]1987|right|Sebastian Ridley-Thomas||no_popup[/img]State Assemblymember Sebastian Ridley-Thomas today praised the two-day-old legal settlement in the case of Valentini v. McDonald that will provide for construction of new housing for homeless veterans on the site of the VA’s West L.A. campus, which is in the 54th Assembly District.
“The settlement between the U.S. Veterans Administration and American Civil Liberties Union will help us achieve the goal laid out by President Obama – ending homelessness among the men and women who served in our nation’s armed forces,” he said.
“They helped preserve the freedoms we enjoy as Americans. I strongly believe in and support our President’s goal.
“We’ve made progress towards the goal of ending veterans’ homelessness over the last few years.
“But I am not satisfied. There are still far too many veterans in Los Angeles who remain homeless. I am hopeful that the terms of the agreement that has been reached – including the creation of a master plan for the VA’s West L.A. campus – will help us create safe and secure residences for every remaining homeless veteran in L.A.”
Mr. Ridley-Thomas pledged to work in collaboration with state Dept. of Veteran Affairs, VA officials, city of Los Angeles officials, ACLU representatives, veterans’ organizations and surrounding communities in the 54th Assembly District to ensure that the VA-ACLU agreement results in the creation of “new housing that our servicemen and women and our region, state and nation can be proud of.”
Mr. Ridley-Thomas may be contacted at http://asmdc.org/members/a54/
Mr. MacFarlane may be contacted at FredMacFarlane@mac.com
