Photo By Nell King | Retired U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Richard Russell receives hygiene products at the...... read more read more
WASHINGTON - Hundreds of homeless and at-risk military veterans gathered at the Washington Veterans Affairs Medical Center Jan. 30 for the 22nd Annual Winterhaven Homeless Veterans Stand Down to receive medical treatment and support services from organizations throughout the metro area.
Approximately 400 veterans pre-registered for the event, according to Gloria Hairston, director of public affairs and community relations for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. She estimated a total of about 700 veterans had sought services at Winterhaven by the end of the day.
Homeless and at-risk veterans from across the National Capital Region were invited to visit the hospital for medical screenings, counseling, housing assistance and a wide variety of other services from more than 70 federal, state and community agencies.
Eight Marines from the region, including the Henderson Hall portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall, volunteered to work the event, providing meet-and-greet services.
Marine Cpl. Fernando Maldonado, of Marine Corps Barracks 8th and I, said volunteering was his way of “paying it forward.”
“I always believe in giving back to the community as much as I can,” he said. “Today we’re essentially here to meet-and-greet, talking to veterans, seeing how they’re doing. We’re helping them navigate everything that’s going on today. It’s a huge event, so we’re just bringing cheer along the way, helping any way we can.”
On a personal level, he said helping his forebears was an enriching experience.
“It means a lot because they’re the ones that came before us,” he said. “We’ll take care of them just like the way they took care of us beforehand … so that sometime in the future maybe some people along the line will pay it forward for us as well. They’re struggling, so why not try and give as much as we can, whether it’s a smile, a meal, clothing. Whatever it is, we’ll try to give it back to the best of our ability.”
Marine Sgt. Jesse Luper, of Henderson Hall, spent his day off volunteering, talking to and getting to know veterans who were waiting to be processed. He said everybody he met had a story, whether it was a war story or, in one instance, a veteran who is a write-in candidate for the 2016 presidential election.
“It’s been really interesting,” Luper said. “A lot of interesting people come through here with cool stories, you know? They’re all veterans, they all have their stories. It’s just part of being of service.”
Gwen Smalls, program specialist with the hospital’s office of public affairs and community relations, said about the same number of veterans come out to the event every year.
“Every year we try to make it bigger and better, and the final result is to hopefully end homelessness,” she said.
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald visited the hospital during the event as well, touring the facility to see the stand down’s progress.
“VA and the Washington D.C. VA Medical Center are proud to host the Winterhaven Homeless Veterans Stand Down, a major outreach event held annually for homeless and at risk veterans,” McDonald said in a statement. “These events highlight the importance of our ongoing efforts in helping local-area veterans in need and our strong collaboration between federal, local and nonprofit agencies throughout the Washington D.C. area.”
According to the VA, the medical center has been able to permanently house 1,231 homeless veterans since 2008.
For more information on the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center visit www.washingtondc.va.gov/index.asp.
| Date Taken: | 01.30.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.03.2016 16:17 |
| Story ID: | 187817 |
| Location: | DC, US |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, A helping hand: Local Marines volunteer to assist homeless veterans, by Guv Callahan, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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