Reaching Out : Stand Down’s Success May Push It Over Capacity Again

Four years ago, Robert Van Keuren and a group of fellow Vietnam veterans realized an idea. They built a tent city in San Diego, a onetime, weekend-only haven for homeless veterans in need of help.

And they came, veterans looking for a hot meal, a cot, a tip on a job, or just a place to be left alone, free from the hassles of the street.

The idea took hold and each year more veterans arrived.

Now, as “Stand Down” begins its fourth year today, Van Keuren faces this irony: he probably will have to turn away more than 100 homeless veterans because there is inadequate room for them.

The field behind San Diego High School and food and supplies will only sustain 600 people, he said, adding that, as of Wednesday afternoon, his group was was still about 100 cots short of what it needed.

Already, more than 600 people have registered to attend, said Bob Carter, head of security. He estimated about 20% probably won’t show up.

Those who can’t get in will be asked to stop at the San Diego Veterans Center on Monday for help, the 41-year-old Van Keuren said.

“We turn them away, but we don’t turn them away totally empty-handed,” he said.

Last year was the first time organizers were forced to refuse entry to homeless veterans, although organizers expect this year to be worse because more people have preregistered for the event, which runs through Sunday.

The success of Stand Down, a military term meaning to shift from a combat-ready state to a time of rest and recreation, has spread to other cities, which for the first time this year are imitating San Diego’s all-volunteer program, Van Keuren said.

The event’s notoriety can be measured by the fact that 30 organizers from out-of-state cities will be here this weekend to see how its done, so that they can sponsor similar events in their own communities, he said.

Stand Downs are also spreading in California.

Sacramento will host a Stand Down in the fall, Van Keuren said, and San Francisco’s maiden effort next year will be bigger than San Diego’s, said Michael Blecker, executive director of Swords to Plowshares, the organization that will sponsor the San Francisco event. More than 1,000 homeless veterans are expected in San Francisco, Blecker said.

The San Diego Stand Down has received support from the military, something that is lacking in the Bay Area, said Van Keuren and Blecker.

In San Diego, the military helps up the tents, provide transportation of supplies and act as security, Van Keuren said.

Blecker said he hasn’t gotten similar assistance.

“San Francisco is different,” Van Keuren agreed. “They have an anti-war movement there. This community is very pro-military.”

The popularity of Stand Down has grown mainly for two reasons, Van Keuren said: media attention and the increase in agencies who participate, such as the U.S. Department of Labor.

When the project began in 1988, about 400 veterans came, Van Keuren said.

Van Keuren says his annual project could grow even bigger if he had the resources. “We’re still 100 blankets short for this weekend,” he said. “I want to be able to give everyone who comes a blanket. What are you going to do? Ask them to give it back?”

In the end, what remains at the core of the program is one veteran helping another who has fallen on hard times and needs a respite, however short, from the harsh life of the homeless.

Says Van Keuren: “It’s combat on the streets out there.”