Santa Barbara County hosted its
third annual “Stand Down” event on October 18 at the Santa Maria Fairpark. Spearheaded by Fifth District County Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, the
event is intended to connect veterans — especially those who are
homeless or unemployed — with a wide array of services in one location. A
total of 490 veterans, including 117 homeless veterans,
and their families attended. The massive, indoor-outdoor event was the culmination of more than a year of planning by dozens of agencies, including the Department of Social Services.
Click the Read More link below for more details and lots of pictures!
A total of 500 volunteers were
working the Stand Down at any given time — a real outpouring of community
desire to give back to the veterans that have served our country. Among
the volunteers were 282 service providers, 150 active-duty personnel from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, and 30 youth from Grizzly Youth Academy.
Stand Down is a military
term designating that a combat unit is temporarily moved out of the field and
back to base camp for rest and rehabilitation. Homeless veterans are, in
some ways, comparable to soldiers in a war zone — living exposed in the field,
surviving by their wits on limited rations while enduring extreme conditions. Life on the street is debilitating, and for many veterans it leads to a cycle
of despair and isolation.
Stand Down was designed as an intervention to
bring a wide range of essential services to veterans, to help them reintegrate
into the local labor force by addressing the complex problems and barriers they
may experience.
Transportation for
veterans and their families was provided from seven locations throughout Santa
Barbara County. Each veteran was greeted at the front gate by an Airman
from Vandenberg Air Force Base, who escorted them around the Fairpark.
Veterans could obtain food, get new clothing, take a shower, get a haircut, find
housing, access VA benefits, and access the necessary services, including
employment and training providers, social and legal services, health and
dental screenings and care, counseling and referrals to other service agencies
— 93 possible services available in all.
Over the course of the
day, four people were connected with housing placements, 12 got their
California ID cards, and 113 received haircuts. Hundreds of bus tokens were
issued, hundreds of breakfasts and barbeque lunches were served, and well over
a thousand packaged snacks and bottles of water or juice were distributed.
A
$7000 federal grant and a $4000 Raytheon community grant helped provide boots,
shoes, and rain jackets for homeless veterans. Community donations provided new
and used clothing, and hygiene items such as shampoo, soap and deodorant.
Medical care is an
important component of Stand Down. Dozens of patients received screenings for
blood pressure, vision or dental; got podiatry or chiropractic services; saw a
VA doctor and/or got flu shots. Over 100 received PTSD counseling; nearly 200
received suicide prevention and awareness services. Female-specific services
for women veterans were also offered — dozens took advantage of massages,
mending, job resume services, Direct Relief bags, or breast exams.
A Pet Zone helped some 50 veterans look after their furry friends. Collars, leashes, and pet shampoo were
provided. Nearly 30 pets got microchips or rabies shots.
The Department of Social Services played crucial roles in planning,
organizing and executing the Stand Down. Division Chief Frank Mejia
coordinated the 81 service and employment providers present to
provide services and referrals. Frank was assisted by CalFresh analyst Marian Acosta and Benefit Service Center office professional Lurdes
Navarro, who handled Bus Passes and service provider Boarding
Passes. Special Projects Manager
Heather Gardner was responsible for securing Federal and State grants to purchase boots, shoes and
high protein foods for the homeless veterans.
In addition, many
dedicated employees stepped up to help, especially behind the scenes, to do much of the final
critical detail work necessary to ensure a successful event. Some did
prep work such as planning, ordering and packing supplies, creating forms
and maps, and stuffing backpacks. Others helped on the day
of the event by assisting veterans as needed, or manning one of the several
DSS tables where participants connected with DSS programs and
services. All of their hard work made the Stand Down a
big success.
A special thanks goes to
Santa Maria-based DSS employees who worked on the day of the event, whether as a volunteer or
as a DSS representative at one of several DSS tables. They include: Eddie Ozeta, Katie
Cisneros, Ryan Fisher, Lupe Salinas, Mario Mosqueda, Stephen Mallow, Gloria
Osalde, Lea Patague, Haylie Cribbs, Maria Ramos, Diane Ouellette, Philmaer
Tambio-Yeh, Steve Hernandez, Carolina Carrillo, Maria Gardner, Heather Gardner,
Marian Acosta and Frank Mejia.
In addition, we would
like to recognize our employees and partner agencies at the Santa Maria
Workforce Resource Center for their generous support in fundraising for
the event, conducting raffles, collecting loose change and gathering many
needed donations for the event. These efforts were spearheaded by Andrea
McGrath, Brenda Dominguez, Liz Noriega, Noemi Gaytan, and Mona Baker.
For those of us
fortunate enough to attend Stand Down and talk to participating veterans and
look into their eyes, it was clear that our heartfelt efforts boosted their
morale and self-worth. We look forward to doing it again next year.
