StandDown 2005: Providing Veterans a Homecoming

“It’s like the (movie) Field of Dreams, if we build it they will come. Hard-core veterans come because they can reunite with old friends. It’s like a homecoming to them. We give the guys a place to come home,” says Bill Lindboe, StandDown Organizer.

The 13th annual “Minnesota StandDown: Making a Difference” was held August 4 to 6, 2005, on the University of Minnesota campus, in Minneapolis.

For soldiers in combat the phrase “Stand down” means they will be moved from the dangerous front line to relative safety for food, clothing and rest. For a few days in the Twin Cities every August, it means that a part of the U of M campus is transformed into a military-style camp where homeless veterans can access food, clothing and a haircut.

Veterans are more likely to have been “dually diagnosed” with both mental health problems and alcoholism or substance abuse disorder, and to report more long-term health problems than the non-veteran experiencing homelessness. Pooling these disabilities with chronic medical conditions, mental illness, and substance abuse, 81 percent of homeless veterans have at least one serious or chronic disability.

Through the StandDown, hundreds of volunteers provided a host of services. Some veterans came for a specific one such as identification, legal aid, medical, dental, eye and psychological exams and treatments; job training; federal and state tax counseling; social security eligibility information; substance abuse counseling; or simply for some food and shelter.

Bill admits, “There’s no miracles here, but people can find what they want.”