VA announced the opening of two buildings that will provide 120 units of permanent supportive housing for homeless and at-risk veterans and their families at the VA West Los Angeles campus. The campus now has a total of 233 supportive housing units available. VA has set a goal to provide at least 1,500 permanent housing placements to veterans in the Greater Los Angeles area in 2023. Nationwide, VA permanently housed 40,401 homeless veterans in 2022. If you know a veteran who is homeless or at risk of homelessness and in need of VA services, call the West LA VA Welcome Center at (310) 268-3269. Veterans in crisis should call (800) 273-8255 and press 1.
Check the Status of Your VA Claim
Many veterans and their families and survivors have filed claims related to the PACT Act. Regardless of when or why you filed, you can check the status of your claim online. Sign into va.gov with your existing Login.gov, ID.me, DS Logon, or My Healthy Vet account. If you don’t have any of these, you can create a free Login.gov or ID.me account. If you feel there is something incorrect in your claim, contact your service officer that filed your claim.
VA Offers Trauma Coordinators
Military sexual trauma (MST) is sexual assault or harassment that occurs during military service. MST survivors can receive help at VA health facilities from MST Coordinators to connect to no-cost care. Community-based Vet Centers provide MST-related outpatient counseling and referral services in a nonmedical setting.
POW/MIA Update
Navy Electrician’s Mate 3rd Class Cecil E. Barncord, 24, of Topeka, Kansas, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. He will be buried on a date yet to be determined in Mossy Rock, Washington.
Navy Mess Attendant 2nd Class Archie Callahan, Jr., 19, of Newark, New Jersey, was assigned to the battleship USS Oklahoma, which was moored at Ford Island, Pearl Harbor. He will be buried on May 5, 2023, at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.
Air Force Colonel Ernest L. De Soto, 37, was assigned to the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 336th Tactical Fighter Wing. The F-4D Phantom II he was piloting went missing on April 12, 1969.
Air Force Captain Frederick M. Hall, 25, was assigned to the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 336th Tactical Fighter Wing. The F-4D Phantom II he was navigating went missing on April 12, 1969.
Till next week, praying for all service members.
– Charles Castelluccio
