Homeless veterans event set

Tuesday, May 25, 2004 | 8:38 a.m.

Homeless veterans will receive food, clothing, services and supplies in the first Veterans Stand Down from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday.

Numerous local agencies are organizing the stand down for the estimated 3,000 homeless veterans in Clark County, who represent 38 percent of the 7,800 or more homeless people identified in the April count. There are more than 190,000 veterans in the county.

The stand down will be held at the Fraternal Order of Eagles 1213, at 1601 E. Washington Ave.

A similar stand down for all of the Las Vegas Valley's homeless is held annually in the fall.

In the military, "stand down" refers to the rest and recovery period in safe and secure areas away from battlefields given to exhausted combat units.

A recent census of the homeless found they are more dispersed than ever.

"This means they're harder to count, which in turn makes it harder to bring services and supplies to them," Regional Homeless Services Coordinator Paula Haynes-Green said. "By organizing this stand down, hopefully they'll come to us."

The one-day event is sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the U.S. Veterans Initiative. It was organized by the local Veterans Stand Down Committee. Supplies and services came from Clark County Social Service, veterans service organizations and the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center.