Annual Stand Down event serves veterans

Veterans will be offered free haircuts and boots, legal advice, assistance with job searches and other help during an annual event Tuesday at the Greater Columbus Convention Center.

While geared toward service men and women who are without homes or otherwise down on their luck, all veterans are invited to participate in the 2018 Central Ohio Veterans Stand Down. Several hundred are expected to attend.

“If it weren’t for them, you and I would not be able to have a polite conversation without bombs over our heads,” said Dan Willis, one of the event’s organizers. “Veterans, whether they served in a warehouse or they served on the front lines, contributed to our quality of life, and they have to be respected for the service they gave.

“This is our way of saying thank you.”

This year’s Stand Down will run from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and will include a flag ceremony, lunch and opportunities for veterans to interact with dozens of area agencies that can help with meals, employment, medical care and other services. There’s no cost to participate, though attendees will be asked to show their military ID upon arrival.

Comparable annual events take place nationally, including eight in Ohio. Last year, 556 veterans participated in the Columbus Stand Down, which began more than two decades ago.

Willis said there’s an added effort to reach younger veterans — those 25 to 35 years old who might be returning from service and need help connecting with their communities.

Representatives from four-year, two-year, technical, vocational and trade schools will be on hand this year. There also will be a job fair featuring area companies with a history of hiring veterans.

“When they get out of the service, what do they need? They need an education and then need a job before they fall into a hole,” Willis said. “We have 15 colleges in the central Ohio area that are advertising to their veteran students in their schools.”

The event is funded mostly through private or in-kind donations. The county commissioners, also sponsors, approved $8,000 this week to pay for the convention center space.

Willis said al donations are used to serve veterans. Organizers are volunteers and not paid staff members, he said.

Additional information can be found online at www. CentralOhioStandDown.org.