Stand Down Tucson for Homeless Veterans

Saturday Stand Down helps homeless vets
SHERYL KORNMAN
Tucson Citizen
Homeless Army veteran Joseph Battle said he’d rather keep on living in his pickup truck than give up his dog to get into subsidized housing.
“This is companionship,” he said Saturday morning at a Department of Veterans Affairs-sponsored “Stand Down” here.
Saturday's Stand Down, underwritten in part by Wal-Mart, Tucson Electric Power and Tucson Truck Driving School, was organized by the local group Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans.
Stand Downs give homeless vets a chance to rest, get in out of the heat, shower, get a haircut, a meal, a sleeping bag, new boots and sunglasses.
Perhaps more important, the Stand Down Saturday gave veterans access to about 20 social service providers and to employment services.
A banner reading “Welcome Home Veterans” was draped across the entrance to the event at the U.S. Army Reserve Center, 1750 E. Silverlake Road. It began at 8 a.m. and was scheduled to end at 2 p.m.
“We want you to be happy, safe and healthy,” said Mary Pat Sullivan, director of Comin’ Home, a nonprofit that provides housing to homeless vets.
She welcomed the veterans after a Color Guard ceremony in the building’s cafeteria.
Battle, 49, said Buddy, his 14-month-old Shepherd-Chow mix, is important to his wellbeing and said most landlords won’t rent to him because of the large dog.
Battle panhandles for a living.
He said he has emphysema – though he still smokes – hepatitis C, arthritis and two compressed discs. He’s been trying for years to get on Social Security disability, he said.
He collects food stamps and gets his medical care at the Veterans Affairs hospital.
He has a 14-year-old daughter living in the Tucson area and he hasn’t seen her in about 10 years. “I’d like to see her,” Battle said.
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