NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – The annual North Bay Stand Down, an outreach event for veterans in need, will take place this October.

This year the dates are Tuesday, Oct. 15, through Thursday, Oct. 17, at the Dixon-May Fairgrounds in Solano County.

The Stand Down event is a community effort to bring services, support and dental, medical and mental health care to veterans who are homeless or at risk of being homeless.

The area of operation for the North Bay Stand Down includes the counties of Lake, Mendocino, Napa, Solano, Sonoma and Yolo counties.

The “stand down” concept comes from the military. The term designates a specific status – when a combat unit in the field has been withdrawn and moved back to a base camp for rest, recuperation, training and reequipping.

In some ways, homeless veterans are comparable to combat soldiers in a war zone – living exposed in the field, surviving by their wit with limited rations, enduring extreme conditions.

Life on the street is both dangerous and debilitating and for many veterans leads to a self-generating cycle of despair and isolation.

Begun in 1988 by Vietnam veterans in San Diego, Stand Down was conceived as an intervention to bring a wide range of essential services to homeless veterans, while raising their morale and awakening their motivation.

The goal was to break the cycle of homelessness and change the lives of many of the veterans who attend the Stand Down.

Homeless veterans need the same things as the vast majority of our society enjoys such as dental care, medical and mental health care, eye care, hot showers, a clean, safe and secure place to sleep, hot food and new clothing.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs supports stand downs events all across the nation with medical and mental health care.

The state of California allows the use of many of the fairgrounds across the state for stand downs. But the event could not exist without the involvement of the surrounding communities.

Local communities – businesses, community organizations, veterans’ service organizations – provide the greatest amount of support for a local stand down.

You can help our veterans return to a normal life in our society by participating in any of the following ways: make a tax-deductible donation, volunteer to help where needed, sponsor a meal, donate professional services and donate food, clothing or other items.

Veterans also can help by talking to our homeless and at-risk veterans.

If you want to help our veterans, you may call 707-344-3743, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.nbstanddown.org .