“This is what Christmas is all about,” wrote Arnold Schwarzenegger on Twitter yesterday after personally donating 25 “tiny homes” to Los Angeles-area homeless veterans. Schwarzenegger was on hand at the unveiling, tweeting photos and his own thoughts on the process.
“All of you have the power to do something for someone else this holiday season,” he wrote. “It doesn’t have to be big. Just give a few minutes of your time to help someone else.”
This is what Christmas is all about. All of you have the power to do something for someone else this holiday season. It doesn’t have to be big. Just give a few minutes of your time to help someone else. https://t.co/xHiKKRPOh7
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) December 24, 2021
Anyone who lives in Los Angeles knows the city has a housing problem that has, in part, led to a broadening homelessness crisis. According to an annual count by the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, from 2019 to 2020 homelessness in the county increased by 12.7 percent to 66,433 unhoused people. The number of those people who are also veterans is about 4,000, according to Village for Vets which helped execute the tiny homes project.
Those numbers are almost certainly an undercount because the Homeless Services Authority census, which is conducted each January, was not done in 2021 due to the pandemic.
Schwarzenegger provided $250,000 for the homes — according to FOX 11 Los Angeles — and of course a little star power to the project. Village for Vets made the project happen. It sounds like the initiative also had some help from the U.S. Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs Denis McDonough and American Veterans, a Congressionally-chartered service organization representing the interests of 20 million veterans.
“want to thank @VillageforVets for arranging the homes, @SecVetAffairs, @AMVETSHQ and everyone who talked with us and worked with us and made this possible. We proved that when we all work together, we can solve any problem,” wrote the former California Governor.
Today, I celebrated Christmas early. The 25 homes I donated for homeless veterans were installed here in LA. It was fantastic to spend some time with our heroes and welcome them into their new homes. pic.twitter.com/2mHKfoZ65V
— Arnold (@Schwarzenegger) December 24, 2021
Schwarzenegger received his own plaudits.
Village for Vets tweeted, “Thank you Mr Governor!!”
Thank you Mr Governor!! 🎄❤️🇺🇸 https://t.co/AeDKGalpc9
— Village for Vets (@VillageforVets) December 24, 2021
Retiring Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger, replied to the Terminator’s tweet by writing, “Love what you did for those vets, Arnold!”
And finally, Village for Vets injected a little levity into the situation, retweeting Room Rater’s evaluation of the setup as a 10 out of 10.
Room Rater shout out to @Schwarzenegger for helping 25 homeless veterans find homes of their own. 10/10 @VillageforVets https://t.co/QwlWdeACr2
— Room Rater (@ratemyskyperoom) December 24, 2021