Timothy Pena
Veterans Justice Project
257 W. 29th St. #13C
New York, NY 10001
tim.pena@outlook.com 
(602) 663-6456

August 1, 2025

Re: Ongoing Violations of VA Grant and Per Diem (GPD) Program Standards in NYC

To Department of Veterans Affairs Leadership,

I am writing to report serious and ongoing violations of the VA Grant and Per Diem (GPD) program by contracted providers operating in New York City, particularly under the supervision of the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) and its partner, the Institute for Community Living (ICL). These violations have placed VA-eligible veterans at risk and directly contravene the mandates set forth in Public Law 109-461, codified at 38 U.S.C. § 2012.

The GPD program is designed to provide homeless veterans with safe, sober, and structured transitional environments that support recovery and promote long-term housing stability. However, in New York City, this mandate has been compromised by the blending of GPD-funded transitional programs with city-run MICA (Mentally Ill, Chemically Addicted) shelter models. These MICA-designated sites — such as the Borden Avenue Veterans Residence (BAVR)  — allow continued housing for individuals who are actively using drugs, suffering from untreated psychosis, or engaging in violent behavior, regardless of their eligibility under GPD criteria.

This blending violates key GPD program requirements, including:

• Ensuring safety and sobriety within the facility.
• Serving only eligible veterans in accordance with federal law.
• Removing individuals who compromise the therapeutic or physical environment.
• Accurate discharge reporting and outcome data submission.

Veterans enrolled in these programs report being threatened, assaulted, and exposed to open drug use on a daily basis. Some have relapsed due to the presence of heroin and methamphetamines in shared spaces. Veterans are forced to sleep under 24 hour florescent lights in open cubicles similar to prison-like conditions. These are not theoretical risks—they are lived experiences resulting from a system that prioritizes harm reduction policies over federal compliance.

Meanwhile, DHS receives millions in GPD funding annually and contracts with ICL—a provider reporting over $188 million in annual revenue and paying its CEO nearly $500,000—while failing to address hazardous conditions such as a roof that has leaked for more than a decade. These failures demonstrate both a disregard for GPD program requirements and a potential misuse of federal funds.

Equally troubling is the lack of corrective oversight from the NYC Council Committee on Veterans, which has declined to investigate these conditions despite public testimony and widespread documentation. Local oversight has failed. It is now imperative that VA officials take decisive federal action.

I respectfully request the following:

1.     A formal compliance audit of GPD-funded programs operated by DHS and ICL in NYC.

2.     Immediate enforcement of discharge policies for ineligible or unsafe residents.

3.     A review of GPD grant eligibility for providers blending VA-funded programs with noncompliant MICA models.

4.     Suspension or revocation of funding to contractors in violation of 38 U.S.C. § 2012.

5.     Assignment of veteran-competent providers with proven compliance histories.

Our veterans deserve more than bureaucratic indifference. They deserve protection, dignity, and enforcement of the federal standards created to support them.

Please find below several of the articles I’ve been writing about my treatment in the GPD program where I spent five months while my apartment sat empty. Not until I was threatened by staff was I finally ‘placed’ in my supportive housing apartment:

https://www.vetjuspro.com/bts_20231216holden

https://www.vetjuspro.com/transition_20241206a

https://www.vetjuspro.com/20250430_dvsreportcard

https://www.vetjuspro.com/veterans-for-sale-exploiting-homeless-veterans

https://www.vetjuspro.com/discrepancies-in-gpd-program

Warm regards,

Timothy Pena

(602)663-6456

US Navy Seabees

The Forgotten Veteran

Military Veterans in Journalism

Veterans Justice Project