Nashville's 17th Operation Stand Down Serves More Veterans in 2009

"Walk a Mile in My Shoes"

The HUD Nashville Office was again proud to be a part of this year's Operation Stand Down held to assist veterans or veterans in transition on Friday, October 16th to Sunday the 18th. Over 426 veterans were assisted, 23 of whom were women. This year, over 700 volunteers joined together to make it another tremendous success for those attending, including the U.S. Department of HUD-Nashville Office. As Bill Burleigh, Executive Director, said, "The services were outstanding; the food was delicious; the conversation was genuine, and the camaraderie was rewarding for all."

What are Stand Downs? Every year in many cities across the nation Stand Downs (http://www1.va.gov/homeless/page.cfm?pg=6) are help to assist veterans in various ways. Stand Downs are one part of the Department of Veterans Affairs' efforts to provide services to homeless veterans. They are typically one to three day events providing services to homeless Veterans such as food, shelter, clothing, health screenings, VA and Social Security benefits counseling, and referrals to a variety of other necessary services, such as housing, employment and substance abuse treatment.

Nashville Field Office Director, Bill Dirl, addresses veterans at the opening ceremonies

The original Stand Down for homeless veterans was modeled after the Stand Down concept used during the Vietnam War to provide a safe retreat for units returning from combat operations. At secure base camp areas, troops were able to take care of personal hygiene, get clean uniforms, enjoy warm meals, receive medical and dental care, mail and receive letters, and enjoy the camaraderie of friends in a safe environment. Stand Down afforded battle-weary soldiers the opportunity to renew their spirit, health and overall sense of well-being.

Over 400 veterans attended Nashville’s Stand Down throughout the weekend

In Nashville, our Operation Stand Down (http://www.osdnashville.org/index.htm) had about 357 arrive Friday, more than usually reporting in for the whole weekend. Another 66 came in Saturday morning. Several left Friday and came back Saturday just for legal assistance. There was plenty of food with lots of good homemade desserts! "Despite the rain and the cold, the overall temperature was 'warm and sunny' thanks to the many volunteers and their sunny dispositions; and that is what makes the annual event such a pleasure for everyone," said Burleigh.

There was live entertainment throughout the event, held at the Tennessee State Guard Facility on Foster Avenue. Recently, it was announced that local talent will join the cause. An event scheduled for November 21st, and sponsored by Nashboro Village Family Dental, will present the First Annual Super Talent and All-Star Show (http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Nashboro-Village-Family-prnews-4273565162.html?x=0.v=1) to be hosted by Lelan Statom, WTVF, NewsChannel 5. The show will feature amateur talent representing the various affiliates of Heartland Dental Care and their All-Stars, along with top professionals from the Nashville music community in the genres of gospel, blues, R&B, jazz and country.

HUD's programs for the homeless provide funding and support to agencies that work to alleviate it. You can visit our local homeless resources in Tennessee on HUD's website. HUD has a national site dedicated to help for veterans called HUDVet, which provides national and local information, contacts and veterans service agencies in Tennessee. If you are an agency that would like serve the homeless using HUD's grants, please see our grants site.

Local community based organizations, medical providers, and local, state and national veterans' organizations came together to assure our Veterans could stand down with the knowledge they were in good hands.

Operations Analyst, Terry Livingston, provides homeless references and contact information from HUD in Tennessee’s website

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