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Burbank nonprofit aims to help homeless veterans with rehabilitated apartment complex

U.S. Army veteran Bruce Waite at his new apartment at Burbank Housing Corp.'s newly opened Burbank Veteran Bungalows on W. Verdugo Avenue on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Waite was the first resident to move into one of the refurbished apartments.

U.S. Army veteran Bruce Waite at his new apartment at Burbank Housing Corp.’s newly opened Burbank Veteran Bungalows on W. Verdugo Avenue on Tuesday, April 19, 2016. Waite was the first resident to move into one of the refurbished apartments.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)
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Eleven apartment units are far from enough housing to solve the homelessness issue in Burbank. However, it is enough to give 11 people another chance in life.

The nonprofit Burbank Housing Corp. recently hosted a grand opening for the Burbank Veteran Bungalows, an 11-unit rehabilitated apartment complex between West Verdugo and West Angeles avenues developed to help homeless veterans in the area.

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For Bruce Waite, the refurbished apartment was a place where he could sort out his life and get back on track.

Waite, 60, a U.S. Army veteran, was living in a three-bedroom house with a large swimming pool in North Hills, but he lost everything in 2014.

He suffered a massive heart attack, during which his heart stopped six times. Waite was left with medical bills that he could not pay for and found himself living where he never thought he would.

“Financially, things went wrong. I was out on the streets and sleeping in my truck,” he said.

The goal of the bungalows is to have the veterans establish themselves financially to the point where they can move into "mainstream housing and allow other veterans to make use of the units," said Judith Arandes, executive director for the Burbank Housing Corp.

The goal of the bungalows is to have the veterans establish themselves financially to the point where they can move into “mainstream housing and allow other veterans to make use of the units,” said Judith Arandes, executive director for the Burbank Housing Corp.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)

Waite bounced around among various housing facilities and was finally referred to New Directions for Veterans Inc., a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that assists veterans with housing and social service needs as well as job training.

At the beginning of this year, Waite’s case worker told him about the refurbished bungalows in Burbank, which was ideal for him because he could stay in the San Fernando Valley and visit his 30-year-old son with special needs who lives in North Hills.

On Feb. 1, Waite moved into the fully furnished apartment, where he can start anew.

“This is a wake-up call for me,” he said. “I survived that heart attack for a reason. I’m to start doing more — volunteering, helping, anything I can do.”

The housing project was approved by the city in 2013, and took about two and a half years and more than $3 million to complete. It was funded by donations, loans and more than $1.5 million in city funds, said Judith Arandes, executive director for the Burbank Housing Corp., which manages the apartments.

Cities are, by and large, understanding that it’s their responsibility to come up with these housing solutions for homeless people, especially for homeless veterans.

— Judith Arandes, executive director for the Burbank Housing Corp.

New Directions will provide any social services the residents of the apartments need to get their lives together.

“When we saw them, we thought they would be perfect for veteran housing, which we had been talking about for a long time because there’s such a huge need,” Arandes said.

The apartments are permanent housing for veterans, allowing them to live in their units for as long as they want as long as they can pay their rent.

The rent can be as low as $25 or as high as $600, depending on the circumstance of the veteran’s financial situation, Arandes said.

However, the goal of the bungalows is to have the veterans establish themselves financially to the point where they can move into “mainstream housing and allow other veterans to make use of the units,” Arandes said.

“So more than 11 people can actually get the benefit of the services over time,” she said.

Arandes said more cities are realizing that they should rely less on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to provide housing and services to veterans if they want to see change.

“Cities are, by and large, understanding that it’s their responsibility to come up with these housing solutions for homeless people, especially for homeless veterans,” she said.

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio

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