Veterans in 4th year of protesting for homeless veterans on Wilshire Blvd

Group of retired vets stands fast in fight for homeless
For 4 years straight they have held protests at West L.A. VA
By Kevin Herrera
April 07, 2012
WILSHIRE BLVD — Every Sunday for the last four years, 70-year-old Bob Rosebrock has faithfully manned his post at the corner of Wilshire and San Vicente boulevards, just feet from a sprawling park at the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus. While others may see a shaded lawn fit for picnics and pick-up games, Rosebrock, who served in the U.S. Army during the 1960s, sees a future home for homeless veterans who are physically disabled or suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and the alcoholism and drug addiction that so often comes from self medicating.

 Currently there is no permanent supportive housing for veterans on the 387 acres of the VA campus in Westwood, something Rosebrock considers a travesty given that the land was donated to the federal government in 1888 for the purpose of establishing and permanently maintaining a home for disabled veterans. What's more egregious, he said, is that the VA is renting out that land to private companies and pocketing the money instead of building housing.

"To see how homeless, disabled veterans are treated, it's hard to grasp that when you see how prosperous this country is," Rosebrock, a tall, broad-shouldered man with a mustache, bushy eyebrows and white hair, said last Sunday as he stood at his post and waved at cars passing by, a sign reading "Save Our Veterans Land" resting against his legs.
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