Lives turned around: 2,000 homeless take advantage of Stand Down

Daniela Mohor

Thursday, Oct. 4, 2001 | 9:51 a.m.

Shay Johnson went to the annual Stand Down for the Homeless Wednesday hoping to get a health checkup.

The unemployed hairdresser left Cashman Center with a job opportunity and a plan to get her California cosmetology license transferred to Nevada.

Johnson, who lives in the Interfaith Hospitality Network family shelter with her husband and two young sons, was among 2,000 homeless people who took advantage of services provided by the dozens of public agencies, nonprofit social service providers and local corporations that gathered for the event.

They received information on low-income housing, got legal advice, took care of overdue court warrants or applied for jobs. Some of them had been waiting for the doors to open since 2 a.m.

Homeless parents could leave their children at a karaoke station while they obtained a dental check-up, flu shots and donated clothing. Everybody was given a free lunch, and free haircuts were available.

Most valuable to Johnson were the contacts.

"I ran into the right people," she said, as she looked for children's outfits at the Station Casinos clothing rack.

She has not been able to work, she said, because her cosmetology license was issued in California. But a case worker for Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, which had a booth at the center, told her the group could help her transfer her license to Nevada and pay the fees involved, she said.

At the Supercuts station, where dozens of people quietly waited to get their hair done, Johnson said a recruiter told her about a job opportunity. He said she could work as a receptionist at the styling salon until she receives her Nevada license, and then go back to hairdressing.

"They're willing to work with me, so it's wonderful," she said. "And all of this happened today."

The Stand Down was started in San Diego in 1988 for homeless Vietnam veterans. Other cities quickly picked up the idea. But when the first Stand Down was planned in Las Vegas in 1993, organizers decided to open it to the whole homeless population.

"This really helps because it brings people face to face with the services without going through all the bureaucracy," Gustavo Ramos, chairman of the Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition, said. "It's a more friendly environment."

In 1993 there were half as many social services providers as this year and fewer than 2,000 people attended, Brian Brooks, the event's chairman, said. But Stand Down soon became more popular, and more successful.

Last year 59 people were hired through the Stand Down job fair, 3,500 warrant checks were done, and more than 300 court cases were settled. Additionally, 130 people were treated in the medical area, according to Brooks.

"I am confident that a lot of people came out of here with their life changed."