Veterans services plans Stand Down event
LANCASTER - Dozens of local homeless veterans were connected to housing and employment options during last year's Fairfield County Stand Down event. This year, event organizers expect their reach to be even greater.
"We're seeing more people wanting to participate," said Angel Huber, an eligibility investigator for the Fairfield County Veterans Service Commission. "We're seeing a lot of great things. ... We're expecting 200 people (this year) at least."
The commission and Lutheran Social Services are planning the event and accepting donations for Stand Down on May 25 at the Fairfield County Fairgrounds.
The event is free and provides haircuts, medical screenings, entertainment, lunch, legal aid, clothing and giveaways to veterans and non-veterans. The commission teamed up with Lutheran Social Services because of its outreach to homeless and specifically homeless veterans.
There also will be multiple potential employers, including multiple local union trades, and social service agencies to assist with housing and financial options.
Last year was the first year for the event. About 150 people, which includes veterans and non-veterans who are homeless or at-risk of being homeless, attended in 2015.
Of those 150 attendees, 96 of them were male veterans and five were female veterans. The rest were non-veterans. There also were 200 volunteers and multiple local employers who helped with the event.
"We had a good turnout last year," said Les Reynolds, an eligibility investigator for the veterans service commission.
Both Reynolds and Huber have seen success stories come out of the Stand Down event. Last year, Huber said a homeless veteran, who had traveled from a neighboring state to the event, found housing through a local social services agency and still is doing well. Huber said they also helped a couple living out of their car and a man who was living out of his truck after being evicted.
The Stand Down will be slightly different from last year. Instead of having a used clothing bank, the organizations are providing gift cards for homeless and those at-risk. The commission is buying gift cards for veterans out of its financial assistance budget and Lutheran Social Services is giving gift cards to all non-veterans who qualify.
Huber's definition of someone who is "at risk" is someone who might not have a place to stay from day to day.
"If you're couch surfing, you're at risk for being homeless," she explained.
Organizers still need non-perishable food and personal hygiene donations. There are multiple drop-off locations for those looking to donate:
- VFW Post 1516, 1516 Perry St.
- Fairfield County Veterans Service Commission, 3044 Columbus Lancaster Road NW
- Lutheran Social Services, 1681 E. Main St.
- AMVETS, 700 Maple St.
- DAV, 1004 Meadowview Ave.
The veterans service commission will start accepting donations year-round to gear up for Stand Down, which they expect to host every year. Items for this year's Stand Down must be dropped off by May 20.
Huber decided to host a Stand Down event in 2014 after seeing its benefits in another county.
"We saw how great it was," she said. "At that time, there were only five Stand Downs in the state of Ohio."
This year, there are nine Stand Downs planned in the state.
For more information about attending, donating or participating at Stand Down, call the veterans service commission at 740-652-7920 or Lutheran Social Services at 740-653-2012.
sremoquill@lancastereaglegazette.com
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If you go
What: 2016 Fairfield County Stand Down
When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. May 25
Where: Ed Sands and AAA buildings, Fairfield County Fairgrounds
The event is free and open to veterans and non-veterans who are homeless or at-risk of being homeless. Veterans must bring proof of service.