SAINT LOUIS – Unhoused or at-risk veterans can receive resources, assistance with their VA benefits, and more at the upcoming Stand Up/Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event.
From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, at Soldiers Memorial in St. Louis, veterans can access a variety of resources and services. There will be a separate area for women veterans only.
“I was just totally blown away by the amount of stuff they can provide,” said Kelly Vandersand, a veteran with the St. Louis Service Women’s Post 404 American Legion.
During the event, there will be experts onsite to help veterans understand their VA benefits. The St. Louis Food Bank will provide a food truck with nonperishable food, and H.E.R.O.E.S Care will offer hygiene packs and haircuts. Some basic health services will be available. Massage therapists and a reiki expert are also expected to be there, among other resources. Organizers also have 50 free bus passes available for veterans in the Metro East so they can attend the event.
Vandersand explained that Stand Down for Homeless Veterans events are popular across the country. A few years ago, local vet Cassie Strom created the Stand Up event for women only. The two events have since combined in St. Louis.
“There were not really a lot of resources at the Stand Down event that focused directly on women veterans. If you’re a vet, you’re a vet, but there are differences and there are different needs,” Vandersand explained. “A lot of the time, the women didn’t feel comfortable just going into this large area surrounded by tables and tables and tables of men, regardless of their desire to help these people. So Cassie created the Stand Up event, which was targeted specifically to female needs.”
While the events are now combined, there are still supports in place specifically for women veterans. Vandersand reassures women that the women-only tent is on the front lawn of the event, so they don’t have to walk through tables of men to access resources. There will also be women present to escort female veterans to the food truck and other areas of the event if needed, so they will have support.
Vandersand noted that many women like herself have joined the St. Louis Service Women’s Post 404 American Legion because it provides the support of an American Legion without the presence of men. She encourages women veterans to visit StLouisServiceWomen.com to learn more about Post 404 and how the organization can help them.
“Come check us out and see how supportive and nonjudgmental and encouraging our unit is,” she said. “The majority of the population in the military is male. There’s a lot of different reasons why females may have PTSD. So that just gives them the security of working with other females.”
While Vandersand is excited to share all of the resources at the Stand Up/Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event, she is especially glad to know there will be people to help vets decode their VA benefits.
She noted that many veterans receive less-than-honorable discharges because of PTSD-related deployment issues. There will be experts who are specifically there to help vets renegotiate their discharge so they can access more benefits.
“It’s not easy. I feel that I’m a fairly educated person, and I have had many, many questions,” Vandersand said of accessing her VA benefits.
She hopes the Stand Up/Stand Down for Homeless Veterans event will help vets get the support and resources they need. For more information about the event or to receive a bus pass, you can email Vandersand directly at [email protected].
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
