The VA Stand Down and Project Connect take place on the same day: September 12th. These events are free.
The VA Stand Down brings veteran-specific providers together under one roof at the Stephens-Lee Center to provide important outreach to veterans in the area who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Veterans can pre-register for the VA Stand Down.
Project Connect brings the entire community together to provide services, information, and outreach to anyone in the Asheville-Buncombe area who is experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Vetrans are welcome and encouraged to visit Project Connect! Registration is not necessary for Project Connect.
Service providers will come to the event by 8AM to set-up. Services will be available in the areas of substance abuse, mental health, medical health, employment, benifits, and housing. In addition, people will have the opportunity to get hair cuts and a catered meal. Please contact us if you have ideas about who else could attend to make this event a success!!
A short opening ceremony will take place at 8:00AM. The event will open the doors at 8:30AM.
Volunteers will be recruited and trained so that every person who comes to participate in the event will have a chance to recieve a one-on-one orientation to the many services available to them. Maps and service descriptions will be available so that people do not miss out on the many oppportunities at the event.
Participants will be able to visit with any provider who is of interest. Participants will carry a form which service providers will make a note on if a service is provided. These forms will be collected and entered into the HMIS database so that we can get a collective summary of how well we were able to serve people who came to the event.
Last year, we experienced heavy rains which caused people to get wet. This year, we'll have tents outside to make sure that no one has to stand in the rain. Another new feature of this year's event is a coat/bag check. This will allow people to leave their valuables in a secure location while they participate in Project Connect.
