New Directions for Veterans

Our vision is “to empower men and women who served in the military, and their families, to lead productive and fulfilling lives.” While NDVets provides multiple services to support veterans and their families, our prevailing aspiration is to end veteran homelessness in Los Angeles County. To achieve this goal and fulfill our greater mission, NDVets offers our comprehensive VOC, PSH, Oasis, and FSP programs in addition to behavioral healthcare, case management, and linkage to services.

NDVets also has several goals for the future, subject to change based on the evolving needs of our veterans, the community-at-large, and our organizational funding. Our long-term goals include developing more housing programs, increasing veteran outreach, and increasing veteran enrollment. Our short-term plans include: finishing the construction of three (3) additional PSH communities; growing our Neurofeedback Clinic by increasing the number of sites where the service is provided; increasing clinical treatment access for female veterans; and expanding our FSP program.

NDVets address the complex needs of our veteran clients through comprehensive supportive services ranging from case management to therapy to permanent supportive housing. Many veterans come to us vulnerable and impoverished. However, NDVets aims to give them a fresh start in life from the moment of program intake. Upon program entry, NDVets provides new clothing and hygiene supplies to all veterans enrolled in one of our three Transitional Housing Programs at the Veteran Opportunity Center (VOC). Depending on the veteran’s needs, veterans may be enrolled into: a) the Bridge Housing Program designed for veterans who are “housing-ready” and have a current and established housing plan, with an average length of stay is 3 to 6 months; b) the Low-Demand Housing Program designed for high-barrier, chronically homeless veterans with or without housing plan, who are most resistant to intervention, with an average length of stay up to 24 months; or c) the Clinical Treatment Program designed for homeless veterans with substance use disorders and/or co-occurring mental health issues; with an average length of stay up to 24 months.

All veterans have access to additional services as needed during enrollment—such as behavioral healthcare, case management, and linkage to services—and may receive multiple services concurrently. Integrated behavioral health services, for example, are embedded into each assistance program at NDVets. Our trauma-informed treatment approach includes various strategies tailored to individual needs, interests, and abilities. Our behavioral health services include substance use disorder treatment; individual, group, and family therapy; military sexual trauma services; a neurofeedback clinic; and psychiatry care. In-house case managers also work with each veteran to help navigate service delivery, provide follow-up, and ensure success in achieving their goals. For needed services not provided directly by NDVets, we provide referrals and linkage services for veterans and their families.

NDVets leverages our CLARITY Software, County-Wide Coordinated Entry System (CES) database, sign-in sheets, transportation logs, and other manual records to track quantitative and qualitative measures towards achieving program outcomes. These measures include progressive data on client demographics, referrals, follow-up visits, program attendance, assessment results, travel records, outreach, and group activities related to overall stabilization and recovery post-discharge. Case managers and residential service coordinators (RSCs) collect information at program intake and subsequent points to track client progress and adjust milestones, short-term goals, counseling schedules, and other activities needed to prove program success.

Our agency remains dedicated to ensuring veterans have access to sufficient food, groceries, and basic living supplies throughout their recovery and stabilization process. Accordingly, we receive food, supplies, and funds throughout the year from various donors to support the veterans enrolled in our assistance programs. Our service delivery model provides comprehensive services either directly or through contracts and cooperative referral arrangements and, as such, partnerships are key components of our program. NDVets recognizes that multiple solutions are needed to provide a sustainable safety net—no one agency can address and resolve the numerous factors impacting our veterans. Partnerships with other community-based providers and area nonprofits therefore expand NDVet’s capacity to serve more veterans, provide a more comprehensive array of care, and share resources that meet the needs of our veteran population.

In addition to partnerships with community-based providers, NDVets also contracts and partners with several government entities. These include the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA), Los Angeles Department of Mental Health, Los Angeles County Emergency Food and Shelter Program, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Labor's Homeless Veteran Reintegration Project, and Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority. We also participate in several community groups and collaboratives. These memberships inform us of veteran needs, gaps in service, and additional partnership and service opportunities. As such, NDVets is proud to participate in or be a member of the Westside Shelter and Hunger Coalition (WSHC), Los Angeles Veterans Collaborative, LAHSA's 200-provider Continuum of Care, County Department of Mental Health Needs Assessment and Planning Process, Service Area Advisory Council, West Side Mental Health Network, Disabled Veterans' Outreach Program (DVOP), and Local Veterans' Employment Representative (LVER).

NDVets successfully served 803 unduplicated veterans in 2020. Of those 803 veterans, 210 were provided transitional housing, 435 were provided permanent supportive housing, 158 were provided emergency housing, and 176 took part in our Full Service Partnership (FSP) program. Of the 210 veterans provided with transitional housing, 53% went on to secure permanent supportive housing or permanent housing. Meanwhile, 100% of the 435 veterans who already had permanent supportive housing retained their living arrangements. Additionally, our FSP program resulted in a 90% reduction in emergency room, psychiatric hospital, and incarceration stays. Three-quarters (75%) of FSP patients also experienced a decline in psychiatric symptoms alongside increased stabilization, self-sufficiency, and self-determination. Of those who enrolled in our Clinical Treatment Program, 100% accessed mental health services, including individual and group therapy, neurofeedback, and psychiatry. Furthermore, participating veterans reported a 65% decrease in mental health symptoms and socio-emotional functions based on periodic surveys.