The investigative project titled “Home of the Brave: The Disabled Veterans’ Fight for Housing” is an award-winning, seven-part multimedia journalism initiative published by the story studio Long Lead.
Rather than a generic software or dashboard project, it is a deeply immersive data, mapping, and storytelling exposition. The project chronicles how 388 acres of land in West Los Angeles, originally deeded following the Civil War to house disabled service members, was systematically stripped from military veterans. Core Focus & Narrative
The project visualizes and traces a centuries-spanning land war between unhoused veterans, local municipal forces, and the federal government. It focuses heavily on how Los Angeles became the “homeless veteran capital of America”. By the mid-1950s, the West LA VA campus housed nearly 5,000 disabled vets. Following a 1971 earthquake and decades of government neglect, commercial land-grabbing, and graft, veterans were systematically evicted. Multimedia & Visualization Components
The project combines rigorous, data-driven investigative journalism with compelling visual mediums, including:
“Carving Up the Map” Geovisualization: An interactive investigative map that visually traces how the land was parsed, leased out to commercial third parties, and misused.
Veteran-Produced Documentary Film: A short documentary integrated into the package that highlights the lived experiences of unhoused veterans living on “Veterans Row”—a neat line of spacious tents pitched directly on the sidewalk outside the VA campus gates.
Ongoing Substack Newsletter: Long Lead actively tracks the ongoing landmark class-action lawsuit (Powers v. McDonough), sending out data and court brief updates via the Home of the Brave Newsletter. Impact and Recognition
The Long Lead project has been highly acclaimed within the journalism and design industries. It has earned several prestigious honors, including: The Webby Awards
Society for News Design (SND) Medals for Page Design and Special Investigative Coverage The Telly Awards for Best Documentary and Social Impact
National Press Foundation’s Wounded Warrior Project Award for Excellence in Coverage of Veterans
If you would like to explore the interactive visual elements or track the trial updates yourself, you can read the feature directly on the official Home of the Brave Project Page.
Are you looking into this project from a data journalism/design perspective, orLet me know so I can pull the exact information you need. Home of the Brave – Long Lead
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