CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Veterans of all ages came out to a special event this week to learn about the unique services available to them.
Approximately 154 Lake County veterans attended the first Stand Down/Homeless Veteran’s Resource Fair for Lake and Mendocino County veterans at the American Legion Post 437 in Clearlake on Wednesday and Thursday, according to United Veterans Council President Frank Parker.
Bob Penny, the county's retired veteran service officer and a volunteer at the stand down, said organizers had estimated that about 120 veterans would attend.
“This turnout has been awesome,” Penny said.
The term “stand down” refers to a suspension and relaxation from the alert state of readiness for the military.
“The purpose of this event is to bring in all the veterans from Lake and Mendocino counties and we invited veterans in Sonoma County,” said another event volunteer, Jim Yates. “There are a lot of homeless veterans out there and these resources can provide for them, like The Bridge. They help so many homeless people, not just veterans.”
One of the veterans who attended the two-day event was John Blocker.
Blocker will never be the same as he was when he came home after soldiering in the Gulf War crisis back in the early 1990s.
But, if he could, he would do the same if he heard his country’s call, even though when he came back from Iraq and the Gulf War he had multiple injuries and post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. Those injuries were the result of friendly fire.
“I believe in the right to be free,” said Blocker, a tall U.S. Army veteran who needs a stake to walk and has the face of a warrior. “If there’s a threat against that anywhere in the world it needs to be addressed. If someone says I’m going to come over to your house and I’m going to bring bodily harm to you, wouldn’t you go to try to protect that (your home)?’”
The two-county, two-day event in Clearlake was one of many stand downs held up and down California.
The resource fair featured 35 different agencies that offered goods, aids and services to the vets, among them the homeless and at-risk individuals.
Organizations on hand to help veterans included Vet Connect; Veterans Affairs; Alcohol and Other Drug Services, or AODS; The Tooth Travelers of Placerville, a mobile dental services unit that contracts with the VA to provide general dental care, and which has participated in several stand down events throughout California; Sutter Lakeside Hospital's mobile health services unit; the Area Agency on Aging; and In-Home Supportive Services, among others.
Parker offered a special thanks to Lake Transit Authority staff for putting together all the hygiene kits for the veterans.
Heather Olds, a social worker with Veterans Affairs' Clearlake clinic site, said they receive a lot of requests for assistance with transportation and in-home support.
“We have quite an elderly veteran population here in Lake County,” Olds said. “A lot of veterans move here to retire and their families live elsewhere.”
Olds said there also is an effort under way to provide transitional housing to local veterans who need it.
AODS representative Rick Sullivan said a lot of veterans struggle with substance abuse and AODS can connect them with services and help with rehabilitation through VA referrals.
Sutter Lakeside's mobile health services unit primarily provided blood pressure and glucose checks, as well as health information, during the stand down, according to nurse Debbie Allen.
Allen explained that the mobile unit can provide the same services as any clinic site “for people who many not have transportation, can't make it to the clinic or just have a phobia about going to the doctor's office.”
She said it operates in designated locations in a different part of the county each day and participates in several community events in conjunction with service providing agencies, including schools.
“Our main role is to serve the people in the community just like a regular doctor would and provide easy access to medical care,” Allen said.
Physician assistant Brad Greaves said the mobile health services unit program bridges the gap caused by transportation limitations in the county. The program also is adaptable and continues to adjust according to the needs of the community.
“Whatever the community needs, we can adapt the program,” Greaves said.
Micki Dolby of the Area Agency on Aging said one of the most helpful aspects of the event was being able to direct veterans to another service provider present a couple tables away.
She said the resource directory provided by the agency also was well received. “Our resource directory has so much information in it. If we didn't know everything about a service, we are able to point them in the right direction in Lake and Mendocino counties.”
Veteran Don Clay of Upper Lake read Lake County News' Thursday story about the stand down and came to event.
Clay, with a laugh, noted that he received “too much information” about the services available.
“Most of this I will be passing on to other people,” he said, adding he planned to talk about the event with other veterans on the Friday bus trip to the VA's medical center at Fort Miley in San Francisco.
For Blocker, the stand down provided a rare day away from his customary surroundings.
“This is my biggest outing and that’s because of the veterans – so I can feel OK here,” he confessed. “Anywhere else I’d have problems.”
Blocker, who says that his PTSD is severe, grew up in the eastern United States. “Then I came out to California, got married three times, and the third one stuck by my side and said, ‘You need to go to the VA.'”
Blocker enlisted in a peacetime Army in 1989. And then suddenly he was involved in a war.
“I ended up going to war because it broke out in Iraq,” he said. “But if I had it all to do over I would do it again.”
George Thompson, a veteran and volunteer with Vet Connect, attended to exit forms, which he said provided guests with an opportunity to comment. He said many comments identified a need for increased public notification efforts.
Thompson pointed out that there are ongoing opportunities for veterans to get the assistance they need.
“You don't have to wait for a 'stand down' event. Veterans can access their resources through Vet Connect every month,” said Thompson.
Vet Connect offers information and support to veterans on the second Wednesday of the month at 9 a.m. in Clearlake at the American Legion Hall Post 437, 14770 Austin Road; and on the third Wednesday of the month at 9 a.m. at Umpqua Bank in Lakeport, 805 11th St.
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