Portland's annual Veterans Stand Down will serve over 300 vulnerable veterans on 9/11, a national day of remembrance and service.
In a continuing effort to provide housing, employment, and other critical services for veterans who have fallen on hard times, the Portland Veterans Stand Down will be held Tuesday, September 11th at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
This one-day event, and the largest in Oregon, is presented by Transition Projects and assists veterans in need by offering access to employment opportunities, service providers, housing, medical care, pet services, haircuts, clothing and much more.
Roma Peyser, Director of Development at Transition Projects, says about 60 company employers will be there ready to interview on-site and hire veterans. That includes Nike, Starbucks, U.S. Bank, UPS, Lowe's and the Veterans Administration. Over 70 service providers will also be on hand.
For the first time, this year's event will focus on women veterans. Peyser says The She/Her/Hers Women's Lounge is offering women-based programs such as Dress for Success, a make-up artist, a portrait photographer and many VA services that are focused just on women. There will also be the exhibit "I am not Invisible", a photo display of 36 Oregon women who have served in the military.
Starting the event at 9:00 a.m. will be Transition Projects Executive Director George Devendorf, who will speak about the importance of connecting veterans to resources. He will then introduce Deanna Dalton, a veteran who will address the audience of veteran attendees. The northwest Indian Veterans Association (NIVA) Color Guard will lead the posting of the colors flag ceremony. The event officially gets underway at 9:15 a.m. for veterans to begin accessing programs and services.
Registration opens at 7:30 a.m. and veterans are not required to pre-register. Starbucks is serving free breakfast and coffee starting then.
The 2018 Portland Veterans Stand Down is being held at the Veterans Memorial coliseum, 300 N. Winning Way, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, September 11th.
Public transportation is encouraged. Free parking is available in the Garden Garage for Veterans, volunteers, and community partners.
For more information, visit PDXStandDown.org or tprojects.org.
The Presenting Sponsor of the 2018 Portland Veterans Stand Down is The Boeing Company.