Hundreds of veterans took advantage of a program in Rochester designed to bring them closer to the kinds of services they may need. The event is called a one-day “Stand Down” and it was held at the Harro East Ballroom on Friday.
The last time a similar event was held in Rochester was five years ago, and organizers at the Veterans Outreach Center say it helps connect vets with services they may need, everything from dealing with landlord-tenant issues, paying utility bills, finding a job and legal assistance.
Bruce Brady is an Army Veteran, he served 3 tours in the Persian Gulf, and has had his own issues with PTSD and other problems, but he says he's doing a lot better now, and in fact, he volunteered at the Stand Down event to help other vets navigate through the process.
Brady says people in Rochester can help veterans just by lending an ear.
"Come down and sit with them, talk to them about some of the things they went through, that's our problem, we really don't know how to talk about it, but if we have people we can trust and mentor us or just mentor us back into the way of life, it helps us a great deal"
Todd Baxter, who heads up the outreach center, says they just want to help the veterans find out what is available to them.
"All we're trying to do is provide a positive steppingstone for these guys and gals, they want to be good citizens, they don't want anything special usually, and they're very honorable people, so we really have to outreach to them and say, you served, let us serve you back"
Representatives of the Veterans Administration were also at this event, trying to provide help to veterans dealing with homelessness and other issues.
