WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal investigators are voicing concerns for the safety of some female veterans who rely on homeless shelters after inspections showed women housed in shelters approved only for men.
The inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs said that nearly a third of the 26 locations reviewed did not adequately address security risks, which included female and male residents on the same floor, and bedrooms and bathrooms with insufficient locks.
Investigators looked at only a small sample of the facilities participating in a program that received $217 million in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 — more than double the amount from four years earlier.
Auditors found that women were housed in some shelters simply because VA medical staff had been unaware the facilities were approved for males only.
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