Whether they needed basic supplies or had questions about medical care, veterans and their families were able to get the assistance they sought Friday at the Kosciusko County Military Veterans Stand Down.
Jill Powers, veterans and military families program manager for Goodwill Industries in Michiana, explained, “It’s just an opportunity for Goodwill to bring resources to one location for veterans. We have veterans who are dealing with housing issues, employment problems, looking for employment. So we’re able to bring those services here, have the VA onsite to help with registrations for healthcare and things like that, and then they’re not having to run around all over the place trying to find it.”
Each year, Goodwill has a total of six Stand Downs. Along with Kosciusko County’s event at the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion, they have Stand Downs in Marshall, Elkhart, St. Joe, La Porte and Porter counties.

    Joe Fox, registered nurse with Heart to Heart Hospice, gives J.R., founder and director of True Top 1% Foundation, a blood pressure check at the Veterans Stand Down Friday at the Zimmer Biomet Center Lake Pavilion. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union
  

It takes a lot of planning to make each event come to fruition, but organizations are more than willing to get involved.
“Usually when we put the word out that we’re accepting vendors for the Stand Downs, everyone wants to come in and say ‘thank you for your service’ and help. We have not only the VA, we’ve got Salvation Army is here, we’ve got Heart to Heart Hospice doing blood pressure checks. True Top 1% has art activities available and art kits to take home. I think we have over 30 vendors here today,” Powers said.
Before Friday’s event started, there were 75 veterans who pre-registered, but she expected more than 100 veterans would stop in. Last year, when the Stand Down was held at the Warsaw Municipal Airport, she estimated there was between 140 to 150 veterans who participated.
“We also have the Zimmer Biomet Veterans Resource group volunteering, doing some community service and helping us out,” she stated.
If any veterans and/or their families are on social media, Powers said they can check out the Veterans Resource Network Facebook page where all the other event information in all the counties is posted.
Shades N Fades was providing free haircuts to veterans like Terry Richards, of North Webster, who said his hair had gotten pretty long.
Stylist Emmanuel Arias said, “We’re giving free haircuts to the veterans, trying to give back to the community. This is the second time we’ve done it.”
He said they’re providing the free haircuts because, “We appreciate these guys for the service they’ve done, all the sacrifices they make, so it’s the least we can do to help them out.”
Donald Foster, with Seek Him Ministry, provides spiritual literature to veterans, as well as another ministry where he puts spiritual ministry - like Daily Bread - out for others.
He’s also a Vietnam veteran. He was in the Army starting in 1969, serving in Vietnam in 1970.
An event like the Stand Down, he said, is very important for veterans.
“It helps take care of needs - spiritual needs from my aspect - but also physical and health needs and a lot of times they’ll hand out free clothing. Different ones do different things because there are different vendors. We get different care from different areas and different help, which is good,” Foster said, adding that he has traveled to a number of the Stand Downs in the area.
The events draw in veterans from different periods, from World War II to Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere in between.
Lori Baldwin, volunteer coordinator for Heart to Heart Hospice out of Elkhart, said they service Kosciusko County.
“We’re here today to support all of the veterans in our community. We want to give back, we want to give them resources, and what I’m doing is I’m looking for volunteers to sit with other veterans for companionship visits for veterans that are at the end of their life,” she said, noting that it’s a big need.
When a veteran is at the end of their life, she said it’s very helpful for them to have another veteran to talk to.
“I’ve seen it. I have a vet volunteer, she’s a Navy vet ... and she’s been with our patients at the end of their lives. She was with their journey when they were able to have stories together about their days in the service. Then she was able to be there towards the end of their life, too, so it’s very beneficial and very important in my experience,” Baldwin stated.
Joe Fox, a registered nurse with Heart to Heart Hospice, also was providing veterans with blood pressure screenings.
J.R., the founder and director of the True Top 1% Foundation, explained that the Top 1% refers to the military.
“We’re a mental health initiative for the military, using art as a tool of self-expression to help navigate through MST, PTSD, suicide and other traumas in the service,” he explained. “We’re here to share about all of our programs. We have four designated arts for vets program to combat veteran suicide.”
True Top 1% Foundation also ships art supplies to active duty military personnel and veterans across the globe.
They are based out of South Bend, but they do a lot of traveling across the country to help veterans.
Find more information on their website at https://truetop1percent.com/.