Bivouac Helps Homeless Ex-Servicemen Soldier On

In a former life, one with a steady job and a permanent roof over his head, Michael Yost was aware of the relief effort known as Stand Down. He knew it was designed to get homeless military veterans back on their feet. He just never imagined he would be one of them.

But in recent months, the 50-year-old father of four has lost his driver’s license, his job and his home. That is how he found himself Friday checking in with dozens of others at the National Guard Armory in Ventura for the three-day program aimed at rest and renewal.

“Some people are just one paycheck away from oblivion,” said the Navy veteran, who lives at the Oxnard Rescue Mission and is looking for work to pull himself out of his tailspin. “Having never participated I don’t know what to expect, but you’ve got to be hopeful.”

The annual event is all about hope and perseverance.

For the 12th year in a row in Ventura County, the three-day effort will extend free social services to hundreds of homeless veterans. In a tent city staffed by hundreds of volunteers, veterans will be able to take hot showers, pick up a fresh set of clothes and receive everything from a haircut to medical exams.

After a decade at Ventura College and a year at Oaks Christian School in Westlake Village, the event moved for the first time to the Ventura armory, which organizers hope to establish as Stand Down’s permanent home.

“It’s nice to think that someday they’ll all be off the street and we’ll be able to shut this down, but I don’t think that’s ever going to happen,” said Claire Hope, founder of the Ventura County event. “It’s a continual challenge to put this on, but luckily we have a lot of people volunteering to help.”

It costs as much as $12,000 a year to run the program, money that Hope scrapes together through grants, donations and in-kind contributions. There are about eight Stand Downs -- a military term for a rest period after combat -- held in California each year.

Thomas Johnson attended his first one Friday. As secretary of the California Department of Veterans Affairs, the Vietnam-era veteran said he was impressed by what he saw in Ventura.

“I think that it takes people with a heart for veterans and a heart for caring for others to put these on, and obviously that’s the kind of people that are here,” Johnson said. “It’s fulfilling a tremendously important need.”

Johnson was led on a tour of the program’s services by retired Marine Master Sgt. Mike “Top” McKelroy, who with his buzz cut and paternal streak has helped stage dozens of Stand Downs statewide.

He showed Johnson the makeshift courtroom where veterans can clear outstanding warrants, unpaid traffic tickets and other minor violations. And he walked him through temporary medical offices where veterans can receive eye exams, dental screenings and other services.

Then McKelroy took Johnson to Stand Down’s tent city, whose cots were starting to fill with weary, onetime soldiers.

“This is the meat and potatoes of what we do,” McKelroy said. “We try to motivate them, to get them feeling good about themselves. But what we try to do is let them make choices. They have to decide how badly they want the help.”

First thing Friday morning, what David Karas wanted most was a USC sweatshirt. Searching through mounds of clothes, the 60-year-old Navy veteran was looking for the perfect item to cap off a new wardrobe before heading for the showers.

“I like this event. I know what it does for people,” said Karas, participating in his third Stand Down. “Some guys don’t even have a chance out there. This is all about giving them a chance.”