Helping Vets Win Their Internal Wars

In Vietnam, Manuel Ordonez Jr. was a radio operator, a skilled man in his unit. Back in the U.S., he was just another homeless man with a drug and alcohol habit.

He was 20 years old when he got out, having developed a heavy drinking habit while in the service. Eventually, he lost his job.

When his wife died of Hodgkin’s disease, his life crumbled too.

He lived on the streets of Oxnard, sometimes staying with his sister, sometimes sleeping in his car. It wasn’t until two years ago that he found the will to straighten himself out.

He found that strength at Stand Down, an annual event designed to assist homeless ex-soldiers.

“I did a lot of cocaine and booze when I got out of the service” in 1971, said Ordonez, 47, a third-generation Oxnard resident. “Then I went to the Stand Down and I took advantage of it. I paid attention.”

Ordonez credits the state-run Employment Development Department for helping him find a job right on the spot, as a maintenance worker. Agencies at the Stand Down also found him an apartment landlord, a fellow veteran who let him move in with no down payment.

Today, Ordonez works for himself as a tile setter and painter in a business he calls SWF, for Special Work Force.

This year, he is coming back to the Stand Down--as a volunteer. For the fifth year in a row, hordes of volunteers will pull together this weekend to help homeless veterans by feeding them hot meals, making up beds for them to sleep on and giving these former soldiers legal and emotional counseling.

Ventura County’s Stand Down--a military term for moving people from combat zones to safety--takes more than half a year to plan. Organizers must coordinate the efforts of hundreds of helpers, including public service agencies, doctors, social workers, lawyers and hairdressers. The event starts today and lasts through Sunday.

Many groups are donating their time and expertise to help the 150 to 200 homeless veterans expected to come from Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Some of the planners say they often discuss whether the weekend event on the Ventura College football field does enough to help veterans.

“We ask these philosophical questions of ourselves,” said Sharon Dwyer, co-chairwoman of the event. “We wonder, what kind of impact are we really having?”

But if Stand Down, which began in 1988 and is now held annually throughout the country, helps just one person, the effort is worth it, she said.

Ordonez thinks many of the veterans who attend the Stand Down are looking for a free ride.

“I heard the Vietnam and World War II vets talking about where they were going to get their next Social Security check. They just go to these things looking for handouts,” Ordonez said.

“But I didn’t want to be like that. I wanted to be better.”

Co-Chairwoman Claire Hope said aftereffects of Stand Down, in which homeless veterans sleep on campus in military-style tents and take showers in the locker rooms, can be long-lasting.

Gene Ogden, a 20-year Navy serviceman who heads the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Thousand Oaks, kicked off an “Adopt-a-Vet” program last year to help veterans on a long-term basis. Ogden, who will work this year’s event, has 35 VFW posts in the surrounding area taking care of veterans’ day-to-day needs throughout the year, including giving them clothes or helping them get their vehicles fixed.

Lawyers and judges also volunteer during the Stand Down. Hope said she is grateful to Municipal Judge John Dobroth, who for five years has traded misdemeanor penalties and fines--for drinking in public or sleeping in illegal areas--in return for community service.

Another new and long-lasting benefit stemming from the event this year may come through the help of cyberspace. Hope said she wants to set up a laptop computer to help veterans find family members over the Internet.