FARGO, N.D. – The Cass County Veteran Services Office is holding an outdoor event this month in hopes of connecting more and more vets with support and services right on the spot.
The second annual Community Veteran Stand Down event will take place September 11 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at Broadway Square in downtown Fargo.
“Our doors are open for those folks,” Veteran Services Officer Chris Deery told The Flag on Thursday.
Listen: Chris Deery on The Flag
“I’ve been there personally. When you come home, you have a lot of questions about where to go and what to do…we can answer those questions.”
Deery says his office works with both National Guard and active duty troops returning from deployments to help navigate the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ system.
Deery says one of their focuses is also on the local homeless population. About 40 veterans are currently without shelter in Cass County.
And on any given night, Deery says around 250 veterans are on the street across North Dakota.
Deery says office members go out on calls to try and assist those veterans, but the challenge is finding affordable housing.
‘We’re working with private landlords and trying to get vets housed immediately through a HUD-VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) voucher program,” said Deery.
Deery says the VA’s Supported Services for Veterans Families (SSVF) program can help pay first month’s rent and a deposit.
As far as the Sept. 11th event, Deery says his office will be there along with forty other vendors to provide healthcare, housing, clothing, identification cards and even haircuts.
“[We want to] get these resources out there before we’re really struggling,” said Deery.
For more information about the Community Veteran Stand Down, you can contact Chris Deery at deeryc@casscountynd.gov or visit casscountynd.gov/standdown.
