Homeless Veterans Receive a Community Hand-Up

The Arizona Standdown served 742 local veterans, including women and families. Veterans and their families received supplies including things like clothing, toiletries, shoes, and food. Some veterans attended court on the spot and many outstanding legal issues were resolved. The Phoenix HUD Office supported the Arizona Standdown for their eighth year. The three-day event was held on February 6-8, 2009. This year, the Arizona Standdown was held at the Arizona Veteran's Memorial Coliseum.

In Maricopa County, it's estimated there's a total population of 2,700 homeless veterans. During the Standdown this year, 742 veterans, including women and families, were seen. During the first day of the event, 572 individuals came into the event, an increase over last year's total of 502 for the three-day weekend. As a result of the increase in veterans, supplies including clothing, toiletries, shoes and food came up short. The committee contacted a local radio station and three local news stations. They aired stories on the lack of supplies. Valley of the Sun residents responded by donating enough cash, truckloads of new clothing, shoes and bedding to cover the additional two days of the Standdown.

Many small businesses and individuals volunteered services. Those services included things such as: community voice mail, call home services (small business donating excess cell phone minutes), acupuncture providers, haircuts, and several charitable organizations providing security and clothing.

Left to Right: Mayor Phil Gordan, Governor Jan Brewer, Arizona State Veterans Affairs (VA) Director Col. Joey Strickland, HUD Phoenix Field Office Director Rebecca Flanagan, and Phoenix City Councilman, Michael Nowakowski

The event has evolved over the years to include (in addition to HUD) the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division, City of Phoenix Court System, Arizona Department of Economic Security, Social Security, and the Veterans Administration (VA.) The Veterans Administration oversees eligibility and provides medical assistance and meals. The HUD/VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) program people held several meetings throughout the event to describe the Program and its qualifications and to register participants.

During the event, over 100 veterans attended court and had tickets and other judicial matters dealt with. Fines from $600 to $10,000 were reduced to community service. That was served by cleaning the facility at the end of the event. Those were fines that would not have been able to have been taken care of under other circumstances.

Many were able to get driver's licenses. In one case, the veteran said he had not had a driver's license since 1992. Because their licenses had been renewed, some of the veterans were able to get jobs they previously could not have applied for, since they had no documentation.

Cesar Chavez High School ROTC assisted with the Closing Ceremony

The featured speaker at the opening ceremony was Jan Brewer, Arizona's new Governor. Governor Brewer was joined by Rebecca Flanagan,HUD Phoenix Field Office Director; Phil Gordon, City of Phoenix Mayor; Colonel Joey Strickland, State of Arizona Department of Veteran's Services Director; and Greg Stanton, Michael Johnson, and Michael Nowakowski, City Councilmen.

Debbie Robinson, HUD Southwest Office of Native American Programs (SWONAP) Grants Management and Susan Marcell, HUD Single Family Program Support, participated this year on the planning committee and at the Standdown with other volunteers from SWONAP and Multi-Family.

Closing ceremonies were assisted with the help of Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) from Cesar Chavez High School. They offered Thank You's to the veterans attending the event along with dog tags giving them a phone number to contact for future assistance for those who returned to the streets. With assistance from HUD housing providers, the Standdown was able to place 40 individuals into temporary housing or rehab programs. 70 more were put on waiting lists awaiting vacancies.