GAINESVILLE - Help will be available Saturday for needy veterans in the Gainesville area at the 2013 Stand Down, sponsored by American Legion Post 328, the Hall County Veterans Coalition and Elks Lodge #1126.<br />
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These events are called a "Stand Down," using an old military term. In times of war, exhausted combat units requiring time to rest and recover were removed from the battlefields to a place of relative security and safety. <br />
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Today, "Stand Down" refers to a community-based intervention program designed to help the nation's estimated 200,000 homeless veterans "combat" life on the streets. Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) organized the nation's first Stand Down in 1988. Since then, the program has been widely replicated nationwide. <br />
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"The program has become recognized as the most valuable outreach tool to help <br />
homeless veterans in the nation today," according to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans. <br />
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This year's Gainesville event will be held Saturday, Nov. 23, 10:00-2:00, at St. John Baptist Church on E.E. Butler Parkway. <br />
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Federal, state, public and private agencies will be on site to offer free services to homeless and needy veterans including VA benefit and PTSD counseling, health screenings, welfare, Social Security, food baskets, legal services and addiction services, housing, medical, employment, haircuts, and clothing provisions.<br />
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For more information, call 770-539-2849 or email
[email protected] .
