Bay Pines VA Healthcare System is helping homeless veterans get back on their feet
PINELLAS COUNTY,Fla. - The Bay Pines VA Healthcare System is helping homeless veterans get back on their feet by hosting their annual Homeless Veteran Stand Down Saturday. The event brings together more than 70 community partners and vendors to provide services to veterans, including everything from employment assistance to health care and vet services.
Working toward curbing veteran homelessness is top of mind for the Bay Pines VA Healthcare System. It's why they held their annual Homeless Veteran Stand Down to address homeless veterans' immediate needs on Saturday.
"These events really bring a collective group of people within the community together to provide veterans with a one-stop shop," Bay Pines VA Healthcare System Homeless Program Coordinator Blossom Kapper said.
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More than 70 vendors and community partners took part in the event. Veterans coming in were given the opportunity to take part in Stand Down Court if they had any outstanding fines. They met one-on-one with a Pinellas County judge to explain their situation. The event also provided veterinarian care, housing assistance, and employment services.
"They have all the same obstacles that everyone has to face. And so our social workers really do an amazing job of meeting them where they are and helping them get to where they want to be," Bay Pines VA Healthcare System Chief of Social Work Alisha Stanton said.
For many homeless veterans, healthcare is a major need. It's why the event offered various medical services, including dental services, audiology, and speech pathology screenings, education on food nutrition, blood pressure screenings, and mental health services.
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According to the Florida Council on Homelessness, there are roughly 2,400 homeless veterans in Florida. That's a major drop from the 7,700 homeless veterans recorded in Florida in 2010.
"We cannot end veteran homelessness without the partnership within our communities, so we are definitely working towards that goal. We've actually seen Stand Down numbers drop over the past couple of years, and I think that tells us what a great job we're doing," Kapper said.