SEATTLE — For two days at South Seattle College’s Georgetown campus, all veterans are treated like VIPs.
The Seattle Stand Down, now in its eighth year, offers warm meals and gear to many homeless vets, but its impact goes far past the two-day event.
“We want to take care of the person first,” said Seattle Stand Down chairman Jaime Yslas told KIRO 7 in 2017, who as a veteran himself is passionate about helping veterans in need.
“Make sure they're fed, that they have a warm place to sit, someplace to go to the bathroom.”
More than 250 volunteers, including medical professionals, make it all happen.
They offer free foot, medical and dental care, and there’s even a mobile dental center on hand to do more complex procedures.
Coast Guard veteran Bob Markley has lived in Seattle five years and came to his first Stand Down on Thursday.
Vision care was high on his list.
“People are very helpful, very knowledgeable,” Markley said.
“And you know it feels good to be taken care of a little bit.”
The services are open to all veterans who get free rides on King County Metro.
Over the two days, they expect to serve 350 veterans.
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There’s a room where veterans can learn about educational opportunities, job training and ways to get out of unemployment.
Many of the vets are homeless or near homeless.
The latest count showed King County has 1,300 homeless vets.
One of the biggest draws at the Stand Down is the free gear highlighted by thick socks and boots.
Organizers said when many veterans get out of the military, they don't know where to go for basic services.
In order to get into the gear room, each vet must get stamps on their card from six service providers.
“It's easy to give a handout,” Yslas said.
“Say, ‘Here's a meal, here's a sandwich, God be with you,’ and that's OK. That's not enough. What we find is these people often have complex issues.”
By connecting them to the services that can help, the goal is to get as many of these vets permanently out of homelessness as possible.
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