![\"Toni](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Toni_Atkins1_photo-275x300.jpg\")
<\/a>And last month, I took part in a veterans homelessness summit put together by Mike McConnell, a passionate and tireless advocate for ending homelessness in San Diego if there ever was one. As a group, we talked about who needs help, what kind of help they need, what resources are being deployed, what the gaps in assistance are, and how to implement the solutions that we know will work.<\/p>\n
For my part, I spoke about the progress being made in the wake of the voter-approved Proposition 41, which is funding affordable housing for veterans, as well as the help that the state\u2019s cap-and-trade program is bringing to the table, and the need to pass my affordable-housing bill, AB 1335.<\/p>\n
November is an especially appropriate time to think about veterans. Veterans Day was Nov. 11 and it\u2019s also the month when we\u2019re reminded to give thanks, and I am incredibly thankful for their service to our country, whether they were drafted and sent to Vietnam or they volunteered and did multiple tours in the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Did you know that there are still nearly 850,000 living American veterans of World War II, out of a total of more than 16 million service members from that era?<\/p>\n
This is also the time of year when I get to spend a lot of time at home in San Diego, now that the year\u2019s legislative session has ended. I\u2019m able to get out and about, talking to community groups of all sorts and sizes. I enjoy these encounters with interested and engaged citizens and the opportunity to update them on the many things the Legislature has accomplished throughout the year. Among the policy areas that interest me the most is veterans affairs, and here are some of the things I\u2019ve been able to tell folks about how we\u2019re making progress:<\/p>\n
- \n
- We\u2019ve provided additional funding for county veterans service officers, who play critical advocacy and outreach roles, helping California veterans access the benefits they\u2019ve earned. San Diego County received $238,747 in additional funding for this effort.<\/li>\n
- We\u2019ve also pushed to create permanent state \u201cStrike Force\u201d teams at federal veteran claims offices. Since September 2013, the San Diego Strike Force has reviewed 14,124 veteran claims, resulting in $19.5 million in lump-sum awards and $3.1 million in monthly awards.<\/li>\n
- And we\u2019ve helped fund the California National Guard\u2019s Work for Warriors program, which connects guard members and reservists with jobs. Between 2012 and 2015, 172 local candidates found employment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
The United States is truly a great country, but one area where it needs significant improvement is making sure all of its military veterans are adequately served after they\u2019ve served us so selflessly.<\/p>\n
On Nov. 26, while you\u2019re talking around the dinner table about all the things for which you\u2019re grateful \u2014 loving family, loyal friends, good health, plenty of tasty food and drink \u2014 maybe put in a nice word or two for our veterans who\u2019ve answered the call of duty.<\/p>\n
And have a wonderful Thanksgiving.<\/p>\n
Around the District:<\/strong> Gov. Jerry Brown signed nine of my bills this year, including AB 226, inspired by our own Tuna Harbor Dockside Market<\/strong>, each Saturday on the Tuna Harbor Pier near Seaport Village, and AB 392, which makes the San Diego River Conservancy<\/strong> permanent \u2026 Don\u2019t forget that the open enrollment period for California cubierta<\/strong> began Nov. 1 and continues through Dec. 15. See cubiertoca.com<\/a> for more details and new coverage options, including dental.<\/p>\n