STAND DOWN/STAND UP! EVENT ELEVATES VETERANS
The Salvation Army was at Sept. 17’s Stand Down/Stand Up Event for Veterans!, held at downtown St. Louis’ Soldier’s Memorial Park and presented by Greater St. Louis Veteran Leadership Committee, raising awareness of The Salvation Army’s Veterans Residence services.
“We’re providing our unhoused Veterans opportunities that they thought probably was never here,” said Joy Parker, Veteran Services Administrator at The Salvation Army Veterans Residence, which had an information table at the event. “We’re coming out to let our Veterans know that we’re here to support them.”
Several of the many services offered to Veterans at the event included Hope Through Home, a Veterans housing program, The Aviary Recovery Center, offering equestrian therapy for trauma survivors, and Veterans Administration (VA) whole health classes.
“Our equine therapy, research shows horses are very effective for high trauma populations,” said The Aviary Recovery Center’s Courtney Wells, who is a Veteran. “Equine therapy is like a one-on-one therapy. It’s ideal for Veterans, first responders, that’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to figure out what’s underlying, and the horses help us to figure that out.”
Wells said of her time in the military, “It’s been a minute since I’ve been in. What I find is that it’s a camaraderie that never leaves you as a Veteran.”
Veterans can be at risk for falling out of touch with communications and struggle with access and awareness of services, including The Salvation Army Veterans Residence.
Group meetings are at the core of the Veterans Residence community, in addition to case managers, assistance in applying for disability benefits, affordable housing, and counselor access to mental and spiritual health.
The Salvation Army has teamed four times in 2022 with Veterans advocacy and services group The Kaufman Fund, which was in attendance Saturday, helping to get needed items in the hands of Veterans.
The organization will have coats, toiletries, and 300 Christmas trees to distribute to Veterans in this winter’s cold months.
“We have seven programs, they’re all free to Veterans,” said Steve Rosenblum, Kaufman Fund vice president. “They range from our dental program, legal, we have a new part called our therapy program.”
Rosenblum explained, “There are people in our community that are willing and want to help Veterans. But, they can’t control the Veterans being aware of what they do.”
To learn more about The Salvation Army’s Veterans Residence, visit https://centralusa.salvationarmy.org/midland/veterans-residence/.
