Please pass on to any Central Coast Veterans you may know. Subject: Vet Stand Down 10/19/13 · Home/ · News/ · Local Veterans Stand Down aims to help hundreds MEDICAL, OTHER SERVICES FOR FEMALE VETS ADDED Top of Form Saved · Save Article · My Saved Items Bottom of Form PrintEmail 2013-10-17T00:30:00ZVeterans Stand Down aims to help hundredsStaff reportSanta Maria Times October 17, 2013 12:30 am • Staff report (0) Comments Hundreds of veterans — most unemployed or dealing with homelessness — will receive everything from breakfast and lunch to showers and haircuts, as well as medical care and even help finding jobs, at Santa Barbara County’s second Veterans Stand Down in Santa Maria on Saturday. The event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Santa Maria Fairpark, 937 S. Thornburg St. Participants also will learn about programs such as veterans treatment court and receive assistance with California ID cards, housing, mental health care and social services, said Sandy Agalos from the office of 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who is organizing the event. Veterans need only show up to receive services, Agalos said. However, applications for veterans who want to attend are available at the Santa Barbara County Veteran Stand Down website — www .sbcountystanddown — or by calling Lavagnino’s office at 346-8402. Applications can be emailed, mailed or faxed upon request. First offered in Santa Barbara County last year, Veterans Stand Down this year is offering new services for female veterans, said Agalos, the Stand Down coordinator. Included for female vets will be Pap smears and mammograms. The event also will provide donated career wear for women and even a “mini makeover” for the day. Agalos said a local Avon representative donated 150 sticks of roll-on deodorant as well as tubes of lipstick. All told, about 130 different service providers are helping with the event. “It’s just amazing,” Agalos said. About 230 veterans attended the Stand Down last year. Organizers hope that number will be much higher this year, Lavagnino said. Organizations that deal with the homeless concentrated on extensive outreach, he said. It is also possible that the event will benefit from word of mouth. “They’ll hear no one is going to hassle you. We’re here to help,” Lavagnino said. He said organizers are trying to send a message to veterans. “They served our country. They put their lives on the line,” Lavagnino said. “We can take a day to let them know that we care about them, that we want them to have the benefits they deserve.” Free shuttles to the event also are being offered. From Solvang, a shuttle will leave at 8 a.m. from the Solvang Veterans Memorial Building, 1745 Mission Dr.; from Buellton, a shuttle will depart at 8:30 a.m. at the Buellton Senior Center, 164 W. Highway 246; and from Lompoc, a shuttle will leave at 8:30 a.m. from Lompoc Veterans’ Hall, 100 E. Locust Ave. Four shuttles are available to veterans coming from the Santa Barbara area. At 7 a.m., a shuttle will pick up veterans at Santa Barbara’s Casa Esperanza Homeless Center, 816 Cacique St.; at 7:15 a.m., a shuttle will stop at the Santa Barbara Mission, 535 E. Yanonali St.; at 7:30 a.m., a shuttle will stop at Santa Barbara’s Salvation Army Hospitality House, 423 Chapala St.; and at 8 a.m., a shuttle will stop at St. Athanasius Church, 976 Embarcadero Del Mar in Isla Vista.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 20:40:45 +0000
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