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Military veterans entering the doors of Warsaw’s Center Lake Pavilion Wednesday were greeted with a brief registration form and an enormous amount of items available for free.
The pavilion was literally packed with people, tables and giveaways as more than 40 groups and agencies offered assistance to veterans at what organizers hope will become an annual Stand Down event in Kosciusko County.
The first table in a long line of tables that awaited veterans were bags filled with hats, scarves, gloves, shampoo, conditioner, Band Aids and other bags geared for women.
Beyond that were several tables organized to provide free shoes, backpacks, blankets, ponchos and sleeping bags.
Winter is coming and organizers said they scheduled the event in part to coincide with the upcoming arrival of freezing weather and the need to assist homeless veterans.
“The things we’re providing today will help them endure that,” said Kelly Friend, director of career and business engagement for Goodwill, which organized the program.
Mickey Roberts, a career center assistant with Workforce Development, was helping distribute the bags, saying they prepared 200 in advance of the day.
To a certain degree, she said, the items help attract the veterans to the event.
“We feel it’s really important not to just give these to them, but also to let them know about the support that is out there,” Roberts said.
Wednesday’s five-hour Stand Down – the first of its kind in Kosciusko County – was an effort to provide veterans with a one-stop opportunity to receive not only necessities, but also support and direction for an array of other services.
The name Stand Down has a historical reference.
During the Vietnam War, the term Stand Down referred to a safe retreat for units returning from combat.
These days, the term has become part of a national movement as cities try to better serve veterans and specifically address an alarming correlation between veterans and homelessness.
Similar events across the nation are happening almost daily. This week, as Warsaw hosts its own Stand Down, seven other communities including Evansville, Ind.; Olympia, Wash.; and Rapid City, S.D., are hosting events, according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans (nchv.org).
Despite an uncertainty that comes with any new calling, Goodwill prepared to serve 200 meals on Wednesday.
Organizers said today about 175 veterans visited the event. Many brought family members, pushing the total number of participants to 250 to 300 people.
Friend called the turnout of both veterans and the response from the community “fantastic.”
She said they hope to host the event annually and believes the pavilion provided a good central location.
Many of the items given away were provided by Goodwill and the Disabled Veterans National Foundation. Other key supporters were Northern Indiana WorkOne and United Way of Kosciusko County.
“To have such a response from Kosciusko was just amazing,” Friend said.
While estimates on homelessness and – specifically homeless vets – are never easy to gauge, Wednesday’s event provided a glimpse.
The U.S. Veterans Administration tries to track homelessness in specific areas, but has not focused on Kosciusko County. That may change in the near future.
“This tells us that there is probably more of need here than what we’ve looked at before,” said Steve Prater, outreach coordinator for the Veterans Administration of Northern Indiana.
