As a retired military chaplain and the military liaison for Guideposts, I have the honor and privilege of visiting far-flung military camps, posts, and stations. As I travel across the US, I almost always catch a glimpse of down-and-out folks at nearby intersections with tattered cardboard signs that read, “Homeless veteran. I need help. God bless.”
San Diego has a moderate climate that’s similar to the Mediterranean, and a large number of people live on the streets. It also has a reputation for being military-friendly. Whether walking downtown on Harbor Drive near the Embarcadero, passing by the homeless encampments in Old Town Park by historic Fort Stockton, or taking the on-ramp to Interstate 5 from Pershing Drive near the San Diego Naval Medical Center (where clusters of flimsy pop-up tents sit), it’s easy to spot fellow citizens, many who are veterans, living in hard times.
Each summer, San Diego is also home to a three-day event called Stand Down, which has become a model for veterans’ homeless programs across the country. Stand Down started in 1988, but I discovered it in 2014 while visiting the Veterans Village of San Diego (VVSD), a residential facility designed to empower displaced veterans as they return to society. Chaplain Darcy Lovgren Pavich, chaplain of VVSD and director of Stand Down, is the strong, wise, and compassionate point person for the brigade-sized community of heroes who make Stand Down possible.
Enjoy more remarkable true stories of heroes who answered the call. Get your copy of Guideposts New Free eBook, THEY SAID YES!
Stand Down engages thirty-five hundred volunteers and one hundred fifty federal, state, and nonprofit agencies that annually aid and assist between eight hundred and one thousand homeless or nearly homeless veterans and their families. During the three-day Stand Down event, San Diego High School’s upper athletic field is transformed into a military-style base made up of over fifty tents erected by Marines from nearby Camp Pendleton, Miramar, along with a host of other volunteers.
The Stand Down program offers what Chaplain Darcy calls, “A hand-up and not a handout.” Booths, clinics, and gathering spaces are staffed by providers who offer everything from meals, clothing, showers, laundry, housing solutions, education, job training, medical support, and legal services.
“Our three-day Stand Down event is based on the idea that veterans have answers and the community has answers, and we’re going to bring them all together in one place and help homeless veterans find the answers they need,” Chaplain Darcy says.
Stand Down begins on a Friday morning. Homeless veterans and those in need start to line up outside the San Diego High School athletic field-turned-military-tent-city for days, and sometimes even a whole week, in advance.
When the gate opens, Chaplain Darcy explains, “Someone will greet the veteran, welcome them to their home for the next three days, and say, ‘Hey, you need something to eat? We have some sandwiches, some breakfast, juice or coffee. Let’s get you situated, and then we’ll get you signed in.’ ”
Veterans are then assigned to a tent. These platoon-sized tents house nearly thirty veterans each and are named using the military spelling system; for example, Tent Alpha, Tent Bravo, Tent Charlie, and so on. Tent leaders assign each veteran to a cot and then ask, “What do you really need today?” The leader then makes a list and helps find the things they need. Some of the homeless say, “I need a shower and I need sleep.”
“If that’s what they need today, that’s what we’re going to let them do. They determine their path,” Chaplain Darcy says. “Practically anything a veteran needs—a haircut, a dentist appointment, a pair of eyeglasses—is offered. Even more, Stand Down provides legal representation. Homeless and family courts come on site to deal with warrants, fines for loitering, and other barriers that prevent folks from getting a job. Family court works with families on child support and associated fees. The Department of Motor Vehicles helps reinstate a veteran’s driver’s license. Social Security and the Legal Aid Society are on hand. We have the entire gamut of services.”
The veterans choose their own squad leaders, and in a supportive environment, they are encouraged to once again make key decisions about their lives and futures. Empowerment is encouraged. VVSD Chief Executive Officer and President Kim Mitchell says, “The three-day Stand Down intervention is an absolutely fabulous thing and is about getting veterans back on their feet for the long haul—restoring the hope and pride that we know is in all of our veterans. Success stories are exactly why we exist.”
Chaplain Darcy, an ordained pastor in the Reformed Church in America (RCA) and a member of RCA’s Chaplain’s Group, has led the charge to create an atmosphere in which success stories are possible. She has a subtle, yet powerful approach to ministry. “Most of the veterans I serve have been wounded by life long before they were wounded by war. The church, to them, if they had any experience with it, has rules they’ve already broken too many times to be deemed worthy of admission. They may sit outside the door of the church and beg for money, but they feel like damaged goods, unworthy to go inside. Others have been abandoned by misguided representations or promises of religion.
“Most of them don’t know me as a chaplain. They know me as Darcy. As Darcy, they allow me the privilege of knowing them—their hopes and dreams and tragedies. Our goal is to feed, shelter, clothe, visit with them, and let the Spirit do the rest. When my fellow veterans at Stand Down are safe and bathed, clothed and fed, they begin to be able to see what their lives can be. And miracles occur.”
Miracles take place in the veteran participants—citizens of the street who experience a renewed sense of pride and identity, enabling them to once again walk tall, as they did when they were in the military.
The miraculous is evidenced in people such as Charles, a post 9/11 combat veteran who’s courageously adjusting to life outside the Marines without a checklist and structure. Or Bill, a former medic who refuses to allow the soldier inside to surrender, even as he deals with difficult medical issues. Couples such as Marguerite and Chris, who steadfastly face each new day as they get back on their feet after the ups and downs of deployed life in the Army.
Then there’s the veteran who’s been a Stand Down regular for years. Darcy says, “I have known this veteran for seventeen years. For seventeen years he’s been at Stand Down and homeless . . . pretty much a mess. Outspoken, out of control. For seventeen years our tent-leader coordinators, myself, and anybody who knew him was saying to him, ‘Please, do something different this time. Get your life together, get clean, get sober and do something else.’ After seventeen years he finally decided to do just that.
“Two years ago he entered our Veterans Village of San Diego program. Within six months we watched him change—the haircut, the healthy food, dressing up, standing up, and being proud of himself.
He started working. And his wife got into treatment programs somewhere else. And when he checked out of here, he had a job and a place to live. And I’ve seen him come back for alumni meetings, and it’s been almost two years.”
Another group of champions in the Stand Down galaxy are the volunteer providers. They’re individuals from organizations like the Allied Gardens Optimist Club, who are Friday morning greeters, and the District One Veterans of Foreign Wars, who serve lunch. Volunteers from DLA Piper, one of the largest law firms in the world, cook up a healthy dinner. And Sodexo Food Services lays out a chicken cordon bleu feast with all the trimmings.
Enjoy more remarkable true stories of heroes who answered the call. Get your copy of Guideposts New Free eBook, THEY SAID YES!
Then there’s the U.S. for Warriors Foundation (USWF), an organization that was formed by three former Navy submariners sitting in a bar. On a napkin they wrote down their plan to create an organization that would help active military veterans and their families who “fell through the cracks” of existing programs. USWF’s battalion of trained volunteers dress in distinctive baseball caps and T-shirts, and work security for gates, bag checks, and the general well-being of all Stand Down participants.
Over thirty-two years ago, the Veterans Village of San Diego founded the Stand Down program, but the mayor’s office and the police were initially opposed to it. Darcy recalls that they said, “ ‘There will be riots. It will be terrible. Out-of-control chaos.’
“But that was just fear and people still ask me about riots and problems. And I say, ‘Welcome to Stand Down, the safest place on the planet.’ I’m surrounded by people who have served their country. Where else could I be safer? If you’ve served in the military, you’re a part of a family that only one percent of society belongs to. They’re not gonna hurt anybody. The people they’re going to stand up for and stand beside are the people who stood beside them. We’ve all worn the uniform together.
“San Diego now? Stand Down is the poster child! Anytime the mayor’s office talks about homelessness in San Diego, they show pictures of Stand Down. If it’s the media [saying,] ‘Oh we need something on homelessness,’ they pull up a picture of Stand Down.”
Connecting with a community and creating a network of support where veterans are helping veterans becomes the goal, Chaplain Darcy says. “Our motto is ‘Leave no one behind.’ At Stand Down, the line between volunteer and veterans goes away. It’s people helping people.”
The next time I am in a busy stoplight intersection and see a ragged “Hungry, please help” sign, I’ll swiftly pull to the side (traffic allowing), lower the window, and say a quick but explicit “We’re all God’s children; we’re all in need of help.” Then I’ll hand out a ten-dollar McDonald’s gift card.
But I’ll also thank the Lord for the “hand-up” that Chaplain Darcy and all of the heroes—veterans and volunteers alike—provides. A community of heroes in action, they expect miracles to happen.
Enjoy more remarkable true stories of heroes who answered the call. Get your copy of Guideposts New Free eBook, THEY SAID YES!
