Vets Offered Help At ‘Stand Down’ American Legion Offers Food, Services, Clothes At Event
Lloyd Nelson camped out behind the American Legion Post on Friday night so he’d be on time for the “stand down” Saturday morning.
The U.S. Army veteran and unemployed roofer finds he rarely gets a hot meal like the breakfast that was served Saturday by more fortunate people. He picked out clothes from stacks donated by St. Vincent de Paul, smiled a lot and said he counted himself luckier than most people.
Nelson and more than 50 other veterans - some homeless, some on the economic edge, some just wanting a chance to talk to social service providers - visited the Legion. It was all part of the first “stand down” in North Idaho, said organizer Bob Wright.
“Stand down” is a Vietnam War term that described taking soldiers off of the front lines and giving them a place to get a shower, hot food and clean clothes, Wright said. Director of the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Project in North Idaho’s five counties, Wright pulled the event together because he believes veterans at home still face fierce battles, and still need a break.
Buses were sent to Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, Kellogg, and St. Maries to fetch anyone who wanted to take advantage of the event.
Some of those who came availed themselves of free haircuts from Art Rowe. Rowe, a Job Service consultant from Orofino, drove up to volunteer his services.
Others posed questions to veterans service officers, health and welfare officials, or people from the Social Security office. Phil White, a disabled veteran, provided music on his hammered dulcimer, including Civil War-era tunes.
Both veterans and non-veterans volunteered to help with the event. Denise Taylor, a Post Falls resident who works at West One Bank, helped Nelson and others select clothes. She spent six years in the Army and turned out to help because she feels it’s important to “do something for the people in town.”
Wright plans to do this again, though not as part of the Veterans Reintegration Program. Federal budget cuts will likely end that program.
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