At the start of Veteran’s Day weekend, diocesan volunteers and Catholic Charities Hawaii are teaming up for a special event to help Oahu’s homeless servicemen and women.
The 2013 Veterans Stand Down, scheduled for Nov. 8 at Keehi Lagoon Memorial Park, will provide a “one-stop shop” of support for veterans and their families seeking to stabilize their housing situation.
More than a dozen social service agencies will be at the park’s Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Hall with housing, medical and employment resources from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Among them are the Veterans Benefit Administration, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Waikiki Health Center, YWCA of Oahu and Oahu WorkLinks.
Volunteers from the diocesan Office for Social Ministry and other departments will also prepare for veterans a hot breakfast and sack lunch. Donated clothing and hygiene items, as well as free flu shots and haircuts, will be provided.
There will be a short program with the Leilehua High School JROTC Color Guard, a keynote speaker and door prize giveaways for the public.
The “Stand Down” refers to a military term for giving exhausted combat soldiers a chance to rest and recover in a safe place. The first stand down for homeless veterans was conducted by a group of Vietnam veterans in 1988 in San Diego. Since then, these events have served more than 200,000 veterans and family members.
According to a statistic provided by Catholic Charities Hawaii last year, nearly 400 homeless veterans sleep on the streets or in temporary shelters in the Islands. Catholic Charities assists them through a number of affordable housing, counseling and financial assistance programs.
For more information about the Veterans Stand Down, call 527-4765 or 203-6702.
