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JAMESTOWN, N.Y. — The Stand Down is a one-day event designed to provide services and information to all veterans in the Western New York area.
To better serve the Western New York Veteran population, the Stand Down will be returning on Thursday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at SUNY Jamestown Community College. The Stand Down will provide veterans with a wealth of resources in one convenient location.
The Stand Down was a principle first introduced during the Vietnam War. It was designed to give military personnel on the front lines of battle an opportunity to experience a place of safe-haven and rest. We invite veterans to join us for a day where needs can be met, and they can experience camaraderie with fellow servicemen and women.
This event is open to all veterans of the U.S. Military, regardless of discharge status. All veterans can obtain information about health care and other veteran benefits information, education, social and family services, and more. The Stand Down will connect homeless veterans or those at risk of homelessness with information and services to include housing, peer support, and additional critical services. Veterans need to bring a copy of DD-214 discharge papers, military ID, VA ID card, or a license with veteran status to present at registration.
“We are excited to bring the Stand Down to veterans in the Southern Tier,” said Kathy Zunner, Chief Development Officer of Veterans One-stop Center of WNY. “While the Stand Down has traditionally been a one-day event held in Buffalo, we are already seeing the benefit of bringing the Stand Down to other counties in Western New York to better serve the veteran population. The event targets homeless veterans but the resources are critical and available to all veterans that wish to attend. We learned very quickly in 2020 that uncontrollable changes can put anyone at risk of homelessness, making it crucial to bring the Stand Down, and easy access to veteran resources and services, to the Southern Tier.”
“Jamestown Community College is proud to welcome the Stand Down to our Jamestown Campus,” said Don Pool, coordinator of accessibility services at JCC. “We are here to support our community at large. Veterans are a valuable part of our community both here at JCC and in our region. Veterans, typically, are some of our best students and inspire, lead, and rally traditional students in a positive way. Having the honor of hosting this event gives us a chance to give back in a small way and let our local veterans know that you are important to us.”
Free lunch, surplus, and giveaways are offered to all veterans that attend. The Veterans One-stop Center of WNY, SUNY Jamestown Community College, and the VA Western New York Healthcare System are proud to present this event with community partners sponsoring this event including United Healthcare, Western New York, Veterans Housing Coalition, and Resurrection Life Church.
Veterans can pre-register for the event at buffalostanddown.org. Jamestown Community College is located at 525 Falconer St., Jamestown, NY 14701. For more information please contact 716-898-0110 ext. 117 or email [email protected].
