Stand-Down brings help to veterans

Organizers expect more than 300 homeless and needy veterans to congregate at the Colonie Elks in Latham on Oct. 2, 7 a.m.-2 p.m., for the annual Capital Region Stand-Down.

The Stand-Down brings homeless vets together with services that will help them secure housing, health care, counseling, winter clothing and other assistance.

The name comes from a military term denoting a place of safety, according to Francis Mahaney, veterans' program specialist with the State Department of Labor.

During a war, Mr. Mahaney said, a stand-down "is a place to replenish, get some hot chow and shower." The homeless vets' stand-down will "show support and offer services to veterans in need, homeless vets and vets that may not know of the services available to them."

'One-stop shopping'

"It's a one-stop shopping day," said Maureen Toohey, executive assistant at Albany diocesan Catholic Charities, which is co-sponsoring the event.

Homeless veterans will be treated to free flu shots, haircuts, health screenings, eye exams, legal advice and counseling. Clothing, donated by the government and the Salvation Army, joins sleeping bags, blankets, shoes and boots as items that will be given to the vets. Veterans will also be fed breakfast and lunch. "Housing for vets can be scarce," said Ms. Toohey, "especially for those who are attempting to get out of being homeless."

Among the volunteers at the Stand-Down will be many Catholics from the Albany Diocese. In past years, priests and deacons have been available for religious counseling, and members of Rev. Peter Young's recovery programs have also volunteered their services.

Filling a void

According to Stand-Down co-chairman Douglas Williams, the event began in the early 1990s when "a group of men from the VA Hospital and the New York State veterans' affairs office saw a lot of their friends homeless and on drugs with no direction for their lives."

Mr. Mahaney explained that "you got guys out there that are entitled to services and don't know about it. You got vets out there who know they're entitled to it but won't go to the VA. Everybody deserves a chance to try to improve themselves, and hopefully what we're doing allows them a chance."

It is good "to know that you can give back to people who have served their country," said Ms. Toohey. "The day is very moving."

(For more information, call 270-2760.)

(9/30/04)