South Jersey Regional Stand Down in collaboration with the Wilmington VA Healthcare System recently hosted a Mobile Stand Down at the Vineland Walmart parking lot on West Landis Avenue.
This event brings VA services and community partners together to support veterans. Available resources included VA health care eligibility and enrollment, Veterans Benefits Administration claims clinic, flu and COVID vaccinations, and support services for suicide prevention and the VA Homeless Program.
Other community partners in attendance included The American Legion, New Jersey State Parole, New Jersey Casino Control Commission, Elks National Veterans Service Commission and Catholic Charities.
Past department commander Bob Looby said the 106 veterans helped by the stand down were the most for the mobile event. In addition to assistance with VA claims and benefits, Looby pointed out that the veterans felt supported by the efforts of so many organizations and individuals
“This event was in the Walmart parking lot; Walmart has been the financial provider since the beginning of the Atlantic City Stand Down 11 years ago. It worked then, and it works now,” Looby said.
A veteran Stand Down is a community-based, collaborative event that provides essential supplies, health care, and support services to homeless and at-risk veterans.
The term comes from the military practice of temporarily pulling exhausted combat units out of the field to a safe area for rest and recuperation.The first veteran Stand Down was created in 1988 in San Diego by Robert Van Keuren and Dr. Jon Nachison to help homeless Vietnam veterans. The goal is to offer a “hand up, not a handout” by bringing scattered resources together.
