VA Sets Record with 200 Stand Downs

WASHINGTON, D.C.— Last year the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) set an ambitious goal in its war on homelessness. Today, in Indianapolis that goal was met. Counting Indianapolis’ event, VA hosted 200 stand downs in 47 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico since November 1999, nearly doubling the number of past years.

The goal was part of VA’s millennium initiative, Stand Down 2000, recognized by the White House Millennium Council. Tipper Gore was the honorary chairperson and Miss America 2000 Heather French one of its strongest advocates. Serving tens of thousands of homeless veterans, these stand downs were an effort to get veterans off the street for a day or a weekend, if not for a lifetime.

“Stand down” is a term used in combat when tired troops are taken from the front lines to relative safety and fed, clothed and showered. The term was adopted by VA to represent one of its most successful programs to help homeless veterans.

Two Vietnam veterans organized the first stand down for the homeless, which took place in San Diego in 1988. Since then, VA has hosted stand downs in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico providing medical care, dental check ups, haircuts, clothing, food, housing information and job counseling to an estimated 300,000 veterans.

One of these men was Maurice Moore, a D.C. Army veteran who was unemployed from 1993-98. “My life was a shambles. My wife died. I had really just shut down and couldn’t get things together,” said Moore. “I literally had no where to go and finally turned to VA for some kind of support. Smartest thing I ever did.”

Moore started out in VA’s Compensated Work Therapy Program (CWT) that offers homeless veterans psychiatric and substance abuse counseling, structured work and supervised therapeutic housing. Today, Moore works full-time for VA, has his own home and his relationship with his two children is better than ever. Simply stated, he says, “My life is back on track.”

Not every veteran VA sees is a success story. Some are in and out of the system for years. According to Dr. Robert Rosenheck, of VA’s Northeast Program Evaluation Center and Yale Medical School, who has studied homelessness among veterans, nearly 40 percent suffer from severe, persistent and disabling mental illness. Half of homeless veterans also have substance abuse disorders. Combined with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse often leaves a veteran without a job, home or even family.

“Our first step is to identify homeless veterans and try to get them to come to VA for physical or psychiatric care,” said Pete Dougherty, director of VA’s homeless program. “Stand downs help a great deal. A veteran comes in with a group of people and often feels less conspicuous. They can learn about all the programs that are available to them in one place — and at the same time they can get a haircut, new boots, and a sleeping bag. Stand downs allow us to get our foot in the door, so to speak.”

Like many of VA’s homeless programs, stand downs would not be possible without support from community and veterans service organizations. Last year, more than 17,000 people volunteered across the nation at stand downs that lasted from 1-3 days.

Putting on a stand down takes time and effort, especially for locations like Coleville, Wash., and Minneapolis, Minn., which drew more than 1,743 and 1,047 homeless veterans, respectively. Five states — Florida, Pennsylvania, California, Texas and Maryland — and the D.C. area, each conducted at least 10 stand downs in 2000.

VA is the only federal agency that provides substantial hands-on assistance directly to homeless persons. In 2000, VA dedicated nearly $150 million to its specialized homeless programs, including health care, rehabilitation, outreach and counseling.

“I volunteered at D.C.’s stand down last month,” said Moore. “One of my cousins and two of my childhood friends were there. I told them to listen to what these folks had to say. They could help. Getting your life together is hard. I’ve been there. But I also know VA’s programs work. The support you need is there. For the first time, I truly feel blessed.”