No matter how you count it, too many of the nation’s military veterans are homeless. The most recent “one night” count put the total somewhere around 50,000 across the nation. As Seattle joins an alliance of West Coast cities working together to address what has been called a homelessness crisis, a two-day event returns to Capitol Hill this week to help get homeless veterans the services and assistance they need.

The fifth Seattle Stand Down takes place Thursday and Friday at Seattle Central:

The Seattle Stand Down provides a place where veterans can have “one stop” access to various community and Veterans Affairs (federal, state and county) social services, focusing primarily on those veterans and families that are either homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.

The annual event provides services like dental exams, eye exams, medical screenings as well as a job fair. Counseling will be provided on issues like legal affairs, housing, and employment opportunities. Organizers say special attention is given to women veterans and families who organizers say often don’t get fair representation in the homeless counts and face additional problems when trying to access opportunities for housing.

A focus for this year’s Stand Down is to connect veterans with stable housing. “While many veterans hold affordable housing vouchers, they often have difficulty finding landlords willing to accept them,” organizers say. The event has partnered with cooperative landlords for a “Veteran and Landlord Open House” at 11 AM on both days. Housing providers and “navigators” will be on hand both days to provide housing counseling services.

“Our focus is always to take the Stand Down one step further to better serve the veterans in our community,” executive director Rebecca Murch said. “We want them to leave the event feeling better off than when they came to us.”

Landlords and property owners who can help connect veterans with permanent housing, can partner with organizers here.

Stand Down is organized by nonprofit One Mountain Less and funded in part by funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor.

Federal officials say homelessness among American veterans declined 36% between 2010 and 2015 but local numbers around Seattle could be increasing as the overall number of homeless people in the area has been on the rise. In response, Seattle is preparing to spend more than $47 million in local, state, and federal funds to address homelessness in 2016 as it also sets a course for creating 20,000 affordable housing units in the next decade.

Local Veteran Affairs officials say there are nearly 700 homeless vets in King County. Organizers expect to assist around 400 people over the two-day event.

 

More on Thursday and Friday’s Seattle Stand Down 5 is below. To learn more or to get involved, check out theseattlestanddown.org.

Seattle Stand Down 5
Premier project of One Less Mountain
December 17 & 18, 2015

Registration begins at 7AM
Services:
Thursday 8AM to 4PM
Friday 8AM – 2PM

Seattle Central College
Mitchell Activity Center
1701 Broadway
Seattle, WA 98122

Through peer to peer social support and mentoring, a veteran finds the same camaraderie once thought lost. Veterans were not alone in their time of service, and should not have to be alone now.

The Seattle Stand Down is committed to assisting military veterans and their families in every aspect of their transition from military to civilian life; whether they just became a veteran or have been one for a long time.

The Seattle Stand Down provides a place where veterans can have “one stop” access to various community and Veterans Affairs (federal, state and county) social services, focusing primarily on those veterans and families that are either homeless or at-risk of becoming homeless.

Keeping with the spirit of “Never Leave a Fallen Comrade Behind”, the all volunteer and veteran leadership team is determined to do just that. In the fight to end veteran homelessness, the veteran leaders of the Seattle Stand Down are determined to “give a hand up, not a hand out” and to bring every veteran in the Seattle area that is homeless or at-risk of homelessness safely “home”.