It took nearly 50 years, but Steve Allen finally began receiving treatment for military-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now, at age 68, his life has finally turned around and he has settled into his first-ever one-bedroom apartment after decades of homelessness, stints in prison and substance abuse.
Steve entered the U.S. Air Force after high school and served as a maintenance crew member at an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) base. But within a few years, he developed mental health disorders caused by job-related stress as well as workplace racism and violence. After a colleague shot at him twice, he began turning to drugs and alcohol, and experienced chronic homelessness.
In early 2024, Steve’s life stabilized with treatments for PTSD as well as anxiety and depression, and he was able to move out of his car and into interim housing.
A few months later, Steve moved into his West Hollywood apartment through a new, innovative strategy to secure housing units under master leases. The Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative, Los Angeles County Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) and PATH collaborated on the effort, along with L.A. Care Health Plan and Health Net through the Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (HHIP)