Getting veterans resources they needed was a focus for Friday’s Military Veteran Stand Down at the Warsaw Airport.
Stephen Sheets, interim associate director for the Veterans Affairs Northern Indiana Health Care System, said ultimately, Stand Downs are part of the plan to end homelessness with veterans. By partnering with community partners and veterans and getting the word out, veterans can “know that we’re here.”
Right now, Sheets said one of the biggest issues dealing with housing veterans is housing costs. The VA does offer grants to homes that are willing to work with veterans programs.
Sheets said as more Stand Downs happen, they find less and less homeless veterans attending the events.
“It’s a good thing,” he said. “If the goal is to end veteran homeless, the fact we’re not finding as many is a good thing.”
Sheets said the VA has taken a stance they can’t even work the other issues that go along with homelessness like mental illness and substance abuse when the veteran is worried about having a roof over their head. The VA takes a housing first initiative where they deal with housing first and then everything else afterwards, he said.
Now, it’s more about having all the resources veterans need all in one place like at Friday’s Stand Down.
The first Veterans’ Stand Down was held in San Diego, Calif., in summer 1988, and the popularity of the event has steadily grown.
Jill Powers, Goodwill’s veterans and military families program manager, said she believes this year’s event is the fifth year for Kosciusko County having a stand down.
Volunteers for Goodwill handled the registration and manned a drive-through area where, as the veterans drove from the Stand Down, they could stop by there to pick up pre-packed backpacks.
Kosciusko County’s Stand Down was not restricted to county residents and veterans were able to get information from about 30 vendors, including VA Healthcare and Zimmer Biomet. Veterans could access VA services, housing services and just a variety of other community organizations and see what they had to offer. There were also a variety of giveaways like clothing and hygiene products.
While Powers didn’t have a count of how many veterans came through when asked early Friday afternoon, she said about 1,600 came through for last year’s event.
Powers said she hopes veterans were able to get to the resources they needed while at the airport.
She also said some veterans do come back. Sometimes, it is just to have a meal during the stand down and talk to people.
Darryl McDowell, Kosciusko County veteran service officer, said the biggest thing for him being at the stand down was because it gave him a chance to have one-on-one interactions with veterans and “let them know I’m here to discuss” any concerns they have.
He said he hopes veterans get to know what resources are out there and where to go.
Local barbershop quartet 4 O’Clock Shadow sang the national anthem. The Warsaw Community High School Junior ROTC presented the colors.
The Hooligans Flight Team was supposed to provide a flyover, but it was cancelled due to weather issues from where they were coming from.