The American Society of Magazine Editors named Long Lead a two-time National Magazine Award finalist for Home of the Brave, our multimedia feature on LA’s endemic unhoused veterans crisis. We are honored by the nominations.
Seventy news outlets received National Magazine Award nominations this year. Just 14 received two nods. Long Lead is proud to be included among them. For more information on the awards, including details about the other great pieces of journalism honored, click here.
The National Press Foundation has also presented Long Lead with the Wounded Warrior Project Award for Excellence in Coverage of Veterans at the organization’s annual awards dinner in Washington, DC.
“They were in a class by themselves,” NPF judges said. “They elevated their storytelling in a way that is so compelling.”
Reported across several years, Home of the Brave chronicles a centuries-spanning land war between the U.S. government, local forces, and generations of vets seeking support, justice, and a place to call home. Last fall a judge ruled in favor of the vets, ordering the VA to build thousands more housing units. The government has defied the order, and after the wildfires, the homeless veteran crisis is now a catastrophe — an avoidable one with a massive property sitting underutilized for its intended purpose. Long Lead will continue reporting on this crisis until the courts decide these veterans’ fate. Subscribe to the Home of the Brave newsletter to follow the latest news on their case.
Since its release last summer, Home of the Brave has received critical praise from a broad swath of organizations. The multimedia feature’s documentary film short, “The Promised Land” won runner-up honors at The Veterans Film Festival in November 2024, when it was also named an official selection of the inaugural Round Top Film Festival. The Anthem Awards also recognized the feature with three prizes for raising awareness in humanitarian action and services, as well as human and civil rights.