Calling San Diego home is something I am proud of. I think that San Diegans are lucky to live in such a beautiful place. Unfortunately, there are those that may not feel as fortunate. San Diego is also home to many homeless; an estimated 4,000 of which are veterans. To assist these veterans, the Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD) started Operation Stand Down in 1988. Stand Down is a three day event (July 17-19, 2009) held in San Diego. The goal of Stand Down is to assist homeless veterans in need of basic medical/dental care as well as provide them with necessary services that may be of greatest help.
The idea of the first "stand down" came from assisting exhausted troops during war time. This would be an area where they could recover, away from the battlefield. Here, troops would receive warm meals, clean uniforms, take care of personal hygiene, write and receive letters. They would also be in the company and camaraderie of their fellow soldiers.
Operation Stand Down was started by two Vietnam veterans, Robert Van Keuren and Dr. Jon Nachison, came about to deal with the homeless veterans on the streets of San Diego. These two men understood that these men and women also deserved to be taken care of because of their service to their country. The success of Stand Down has spread throughout the United States because of the humble efforts of these two men.
Stand Down requires the help of many volunteers and donations from our community to be successful. This year it will provide food, clothing, shelter for 3 days, showers, barbers, makeovers, medical, dental, optical, legal, health and dependency treatment services. Donations will include clothing (new and used), toiletries, towels or cash.
Local resident and ex-Marine Rick McElroy is dedicating his time and efforts and has coordinated his own donation drive to contribute to this worthy cause. "As a Marine Corps veteran, as well as coming from a long line of veterans, I feel the need to help those who were not as fortunate as me after their service. These are men and woman who served defending the freedoms we enjoy everyday, and I think we owe them for that." McElroy will be offering pickup for any donations (aside from cash which can be made online). If you want to help he is asking that donations be ready for pickup June 19th and intends to drop all donations off at the Veteran's Village June 26th. You can contact Rick at rcmcelroy@hotmail.com if you have questions of want to schedule a pick up of items.
Volunteers are also needed. If interested in volunteering you can call the Veteran's Village directly at 619-497-0142. Let them know you are interested in volunteering for Operation Stand Down. We are a proud military community. Even if their service time is complete, we need to still recognize those that have worn the uniform.
For more information go to: http://www.nchv.org/page.cfm?id=122
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