tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585222926544089193.post8898540240516607337..comments2024-02-17T03:42:32.660-06:00Comments on Elks National Foundation Blog: Stand Down, For What?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2585222926544089193.post-53525821476795683212015-11-24T16:34:11.844-06:002015-11-24T16:34:11.844-06:00Great post, Jocelyn. A couple of things.
First, t...Great post, Jocelyn. A couple of things.<br /><br />First, the name Stand Down is a military term meaning to relax from a state of alert or readiness in a secure base camp. In this context, the homeless vets are "coming in" to receive needed supplies and services. <br /><br />The connotation is important because it helps us understand one of the biggest challenges when it comes to serving homeless veterans--finding them. As I write, there are social workers and volunteers out there searching for homeless vets in shelters, but time and resources can be used much more efficiently if the vets can be motivated to return to base camp.<br /><br />Second, just wanted to get in there that the Foundation recently pledged $4 million over four years to help end the scourge of homelessness among the veteran population. <br /><br />Everyone agrees that the words homeless and veteran shouldn't go together. The fact that they do isn't a government problem, it's an American problem. We all have to work together to fix it. In January, the Elks National Veterans Service Commission will announce how the Elks fit into fixing the problem, along with concrete things that our members can do to help.<br /><br />In the meantime, we're trying to educate people about the problem. To that end, I encourage everyone reading this to check out the web page at http://www.elks.org/vets/welcomehome.cfm. While there, be sure to watch the brand-new film One Last Stand: The Fight against Homelessness.<br /><br />Thanks for the post!<br /><br />Jim OKelleynoreply@blogger.com