The Trilogy Veterans ClubMission to Arizona StandDown

January 26-29, 2016

On January 26th-29th a group of veterans from the Trilogy at Vistancia Veterans Club took on a mission to support Arizona StandDown 2016.

Our Mission: Men’s Clothing

The Arizona StandDown is an alliance of community-based organizations that come

together to provide annual, one to three day events that bring together the State's

homeless and at-risk military veterans, connecting them with services ranging from: VA

HealthCare, Mental Health Services, Clothing, Meals, Emergency Shelter, Transitional

and Permanent Housing, ID/ Drivers License's, Court Services and Legal Aide, Showers

and Haircuts and myriad other services and resources.

About Arizona StandDown

Arizona StandDowns are held at

various locations throughout the

State with the largest, serving

approximately 1,500 veterans, at

the Veterans Memorial Coliseum

at the Arizona State Fairgrounds in

Maricopa County.

Tuesday - Prep DayThe coliseum lies empty, awaiting the event to come. A small group of veterans from Trilogy goes

down to get a head start on setup of the area where we will distribute clothing.

Today there are pallets of items from the Department of Defense to be unloaded and sorted.

There are duffel bags (or sea bags if you served in the Navy,) to unpack, examine, and stack. They are used, so

some are not serviceable and are set aside, but a duffel is amazingly tough, and when you have to carry all your

worldly possessions everyday, a duffel, even a used one, is a valuable asset.

Every needy veteran who comes through here on Thursday and Friday, will get a bag, so we need a lot of them.

There are also combat boots. These are very durable and are highly prized by many vets who have to live on the streets.

That’s a good start. There is a lot more to do, but tomorrow is setup day and there will be a bigger crew.

Wednesday – Setup Day

Today we have a bigger crew from Trilogy, and it is a good thing. There is a lot of work to do.

There are more duffels and pallets of clothes to be sorted and stacked.

There are shoes to be unloaded, sorted and stacked.

There are packages of socks and underwear to setup

And there are jeans, lots of jeans to be sized, sorted and stacked.

And other types of clothing to get ready.

Our mission is men’s clothing, but over on the other side of the coliseum, another group is preparing to help the

women and children in need.

Thursday – Opening Day

We, like many of the other groups supporting StandDown, arrive early to finish our setup and get ready for the day. Above is

a map pf the coliseum showing where all of various services are located. Out area is in the upper right corner.

Cots are set up on the coliseum floor where many of the homeless will sleep tonight.

The homeless and needy vets start to arrive. They

are given breakfast and are prepared to start their

day.

A quick look around shows most areas ready to go!

Looks like we are ready to go!

Butch checking them in at the door and marking their wristbands. Each vet gets one entry to the clothing area.

It was a busy day. We “sold” out of shoes and ran low on other things. We will restock in the morning.

Friday – Last Day

We are back early Friday morning and have some, but not enough, new inventory.

A friend stops by to say hello

Another busy day!

Over the two days we provided clothing to around 1,400 veterans in need.

Mission Accomplished