National City, CA (August 9, 2024) The annual Veterans Village of San Diego Stand Down runs this weekend Friday through Sunday. KPBS military and veterans affairs reporter Andrew Dyer has more about this year’s event.
Hundreds of volunteers are working through the weekend to provide services for veterans experiencing homelessness or at risk of losing housing at the annual Veterans Village Stand Down.
Food, shelter, and medical and dental services are available as are representatives from VA San Diego to help veterans enroll in VA health care and apply for disability benefits.
The event is designed to be a one-stop shop for veterans services, said Akilah Templeton, the president and CEO of Veterans Village.
“So it’s just a great opportunity for us to actually bring our homeless veterans in, show them that we care about them and get them access to some much needed resources in a very short period of time,” Templeton said.
She said special emphasis this year is on finding housing for veterans and their families. To help, they’re hosting landlords from around the county to educate them about the financial incentives available to property owners who rent to veterans.
“This year for landlords who come to stand down, we’re offering up to $2,000 as an incentive,” Templeton said. “We want to encourage landlords to come down (and) hear about the programs that are being offered by The San Diego Housing Commission, the VA and Veterans Village of San Diego.”
Veterans Village has arranged for shuttles to help veterans get to the Stand Down that will run through the weekend.
This year’s event is at the South County Lighthouse in National City but Templeton said they’re looking for a new permanent home for the event.
She said renovations at San Diego High School, which hosted previous Stand Downs, have complicated planning. It was at Pechanga Arena last year and the South County Lighthouse venue won’t be able to host again.
More information is available at Veterans Village of San Diego’s website. The Stand Down runs through Sunday.
