Stand Down serves homeless vets

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | 9:29 a.m.

The Rev. Harold Sherrod Jr., the state chaplain for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, would run across former soldiers now living on the streets near his downtown office and get frustrated.

"More often than not, they would come to me not seeking spiritual advice, but practical help ... like a meal or a place to live," he said.

"The problem (of homelessness) is overwhelming ... and frustrating."

So he decided to do something about it, and with a group that has grown to include more than 15 organizations, organized the first Veterans Stand Down, held today at a Fraternal Order of Eagles lodge northeast of downtown Las Vegas.

The event is expected to provide help to hundreds of homeless veterans throughout the day, offering everything from dental work to donuts.

A couple dozen homeless veterans consumed free coffee and pastries at the event this morning as volunteers helped them negotiate a wide array of services.

Social service agencies and veterans groups offered the homeless vets additional food and water, while others registered potential voters.

A barbecue was planned for this afternoon.

Clothes, shoes and work boots were plentiful, with vets offered a big bag full of the reconditioned items.

Dennis Hickerson, 61, was there for the help this morning. He said he has been homeless for a couple of years.

A Vietnam-era veteran who served stateside, Hickerson said he appreciated the help.

"Finding decent clothes is always a hardship," he said.

Hickerson has lived in Las Vegas for 33 years, but said he has a bad knee and is getting to be close to unemployable.

He tries to get casual laborer employment as a landscaper, but he can't do some of the work and the jobs are hard to get, he said.

U.S. Vets Outreach Director Pauline Gaumond said depression, substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorders keep some homeless vets on the street.

"Many want help, but they're hesitant," Gaumond said.

Event organizers said today's event will soon yield something sorely lacking when it comes to veterans who are homeless: information.

Every veteran attending the stand down today was asked to fill out a survey, which, among other things, will help people like Sherrod understand more about how people -- mostly men -- make the journey from the battlefield to a field out in the desert, and how to help them.

Results from the survey -- the first in Southern Nevada to focus on homeless veterans -- will be available in about two weeks, organizers said.

Sherrod said there are as many as 3,800 veterans in the Las Vegas Valley's homeless population, or about one out of every two people in the streets of the valley, judging by a recently-completed University of Nevada, Las Vegas census, which estimates the total homeless population at 7,800.

Veterans have particular problems, and can use particular kinds of help, the chaplain said.

"There are some aspects of a veteran's life -- especially a combat veteran's life -- that could lead to homelessness," Sherrod said.

"They tend to have problems with substance addictions and mental illness ... and look and sound like other homeless people, but with root causes that are radically different," he said.

Though today's event was the first of its kind locally, stand downs -- a military term that describes downtime when troops can rest and regroup -- have been held for homeless veterans since 1988, when the first was organized in San Diego.

Partners in the event included: Clark County; the U.S. Veterans Initiative, a national nonprofit organization; the City of Las Vegas and the Veterans Administration Medical Centers of Southern Nevada.

"It's at least a one-day respite from the rigors of living on the streets -- and perhaps gives some a light at the end of the tunnel," Sherrod said.