Stand Down
A military term, Stand Down refers to a period of respite and calm from combat during war. Volunteers of America holds Stand Down events, offering veterans assistance and the sense of community they so desperately need and rightfully deserve.
After facing the sometimes life-threatening challenges of serving in the armed forces, returning veterans often describe the experience of readjusting to society as one of the most difficult tasks they have to confront. Many veterans struggle with one or all of the following as they enter civilian life: combat stress, injuries and/or disabilities. The country’s current economy offers few job openings, further encumbering the reintegration process; and there are still many Vietnam veterans who feel shunned and abandoned by society. In its constant efforts to assist our returning soldiers from such faraway places as Iraq and Afghanistan, Volunteers of America works diligently to provide these patriotic men and women with the necessary supports they need to feel appreciated and whole.
In March, at a Stand Down in Cocoa, Fla., Volunteers of America brought comfort to veterans seeking aid and shelter at the National Guard Armory. Nearly 300 men and women attended, many of whom are or have been homeless. The event provided them access to numerous services, including showers and medical examinations. But more importantly, this high-energy, enormously positive event renewed the veterans’ pride and hope, advocating personal responsibility and self-respect as the tools of change.
Rallying the Troops
Ron Gregg, a nurse for Veterans Affairs (VA), works to provide health care for homeless veterans. He also works as a liaison between the VA and Volunteers of America, making sure veterans are in sound condition after they finish their medical treatment and before moving into Volunteers of America housing. At the Stand Down, he passed out blankets and helped guide veterans around the armory to find the services they sought.
"This is really a community-wide effort to assist the veterans," Gregg said of the Saturday event. "We’re really pleased that we have so much volunteerism. But it wouldn’t be possible without the material goods that folks have given us. There are many veterans who don’t own a toothbrush, who don’t own toothpaste—they aren’t readily available."
Gregg also helps handle the Homeless Veteran Restorative Health Program through the VA. He believes that in addition to improving veterans’ oral health, providing dental treatment helps make veterans more attractive to potential employers.
For Janet Lindsey, a job developer at Volunteers of America in Cocoa, making sure veterans can find gainful employment is a chief concern. She attended the Stand Down to provide information to men and women looking for housing or seeking jobs. "I try to develop [employment opportunities] through corporations," Lindsey said. "I’m out in the community finding jobs for them. I set up trainings, education and help with employment."
A cognitive behaviorist, Lindsey assesses veterans to determine their qualifications and find out what they would like to do. She can read others quickly and learn about the individuals she meets as well as certain challenges they may face in a particular work environment. "I ask questions," she said. "I want to know what kind of barriers will come up before they get there." A Navy veteran herself, Lindsey understands firsthand what many of the people she meets feel. She says her background allows her to connect with other veterans quickly and also gives her the stamina she brings to her job every day, an energy she uses to encourage veterans.
"I watch the people that have gone through my program to see how they’re doing," Lindsey said. "I want to see them step out into society a bit more and acquire the skills that they need. I have this philosophy if you want some help achieving your goals and independence—I will help you. If you’re not going to try to achieve your goals, we’re not meant to work together."
Stand Down attendee Don Stephens, who served in the Navy from 1978 to 1982, arrived at Volunteers of America’s Cocoa facility nearly two years ago. Several weeks ago, he was hired by a company to assemble electronics. The assistance he received from people like Lindsey at Volunteers of America helped him find the stability he needed to move forward on his own.
"I love the staff," Stephens said of the people he has met at the veterans’ facility where he resides. "If you’re not looking for a place just to crash out and get loaded—if you really want to get better and you apply what they have there— you’ll get better. You can have a life; you don’t have to give up on yourself."
At the Stand Down, Stephens met with the chaplain, another opportunity he appreciated. "There’s a lot of help here," Stephens said. "I got my taxes done, so I don’t have to take off a day of work to get them done. And if you’re homeless, Volunteers of America is here to help get you into their program. It’s great, you know. Somebody actually cares about you."
"He has a lift in his step," Lindsey said, smiling as she watched Stephens proudly display the new boots he acquired at the Stand Down to others. "I know that he’s on his way to independence."
Women Veterans
Preparing for an upcoming move to an assisted living facility in Lake City, Fla., Linda Nestle will leave the Volunteers of America veterans’ housing where she has spent the last year and a half. She describes her transition into an assisted living home with mixed feelings. "Half of me understands that I need to go;
the other half is—I don’t want to go," Nestle said. "When you’re stranded and you don’t know where to turn, [Volunteers of America] is a blessing."
She emphasizes the advantageous opportunities she discovered as a female veteran at the facility. "Every time I’ve needed something, every time I’ve needed to see somebody, Volunteers of America has been there," she said. "It’s there to help; this is the only real facility that I’m aware of that has the capabilities of dealing with women’s needs."
Nestle encourages women in particular to take advantage of the hand Volunteers of America extends to them. "They have a predominantly female staff, but right now there are only two of us living there," she added. "Where are the rest of the female veterans? [I know] they’re somewhere. Hopefully in time, they’ll understand that they don’t have to be afraid; nobody’s going to hurt them. I think a lot of times they think that they’re going to get the same treatment at the Volunteers of America [facility] that they get living on the street. That’s just not true. And getting the message to them is very difficult. We keep trying though."
Pay It Forward
Veteran Clifford Cole has learned to embrace those tools and implement change in his own life. Cole, who served in Vietnam, now lives in Cocoa in a Volunteers of America veterans housing facility. Struggling to make child support and tax payments, Cole moved to the woods where he lived for 17 years. "I was unable to have a permanent place to live," he said, "and I had a bad drug and alcohol addiction. I’ve been clean and sober now 14 years. By being in Volunteers of America [housing], I have been able to help those that are still in their addictions, and hopefully, come out of them."
During his time at Volunteers of America, Cole won the award for cleanest apartment six times, an accomplishment he shares proudly. He works for the community council that serves Volunteers of America and assists other veterans who find themselves in situations similar to the ones he’s faced. "Right now we’re trying to get our fellow veterans things that they aren’t able to pay for with cash. A lot of them just get food stamps, and we’re trying to get them toiletry items, dishwashing liquid and laundry detergent; odds and ends that they can’t pay for."
Cole attended the Stand Down hoping to leave with the bike raffled at the event. Though he did not win, he lauds the work of those who organized the event. "The Stand Down is real good because you can get the medical attention and that’s basically what a lot of homeless need," he said. "They don’t have any insurance—it’s hard to afford. The program works and the people are very reliable. It’s great to get all that information and stuff you need."
Operation Road TripVolunteers of America Homeless Outreach Specialist Scott Martin drove the Florida Veterans Mobile Service Center (MSC), equipped with a medical exam table, a dentist chair, X-ray equipment (and a waiting area no less!) to the event. Doctors and nurses tended to veterans both inside and outside the handicapped-accessible vehicle, checking blood pressure, cholesterol levels and providing other general exams.
Martin follows a route he’s mapped out that stretches from Key West, Fla., to Valdosta, Ga. and west to Apalachicola in the Florida panhandle. He contacts volunteer doctors and nurses and asks if they would donate their time to help veterans and others in need of medical attention. The physicians who accompany him provide medical services to those living in secluded, rural areas, often the terrain in which veterans feel the most comfortable—away from society.
"These [veterans] are usually out in the woods. [The MSC] gives them the opportunity to receive services at one time in one place," Martin said. "It’s very advantageous to them to not have to travel from place to place to receive each one of these services."
In addition to the outreach he offers in isolated areas, Martin drives the van to Stand Down events and health fairs. He distributes clothing, blankets, backpacks and first aid kits to people in need he meets along the way. "I’m on the road about 40 to 50 days a year," he estimated. Coordinating doctors and volunteers who are available to provide assistance on the road is a big part of Martin’s job. He’s looking to the future however. By streamlining the system for securing medical personnel and the van, the MSC will have a greater impact "down the road."
Eighty-three percent of the veterans MSC treats are from the Vietnam era. "America’s media coverage during this time delivered an acutely negative depiction of the conflict, which influenced civilians’ views about these soldiers so significantly, returning servicemen felt completely ostracized by society," said Volunteers of America Florida CEO Kathryn Spearman. "To this day, many of these veterans still feel the pain from that chapter in our country’s history." Volunteers of America reaches out through more nontraditional ways to these veterans who feel so isolated, offering them aid and services.
For Martin, one of the greatest challenges he faces comes as a result of not having the capacity to address pronounced non-medical needs. He has thought about setting up a training area with computers or other trade materials. "That’s probably the biggest downfall of this whole operation—the things we’re not able to provide because of our limitations. You’d like to do everything you can for the people, but sometimes you just can’t."
In the meantime, to keep his spirits lifted, Martin focuses on the positive outcomes he has had the good fortune to witness. "The rewards are when you’re really able to turn someone’s life around," he said. "Everybody benefits from it. Most of [the veterans] are surprised that anybody is going through this much trouble to help them out. And when that’s possible and accomplished, it makes everything worth the effort."
