STAND DOWN 2002 Hundreds in area register to receive food, clothing

Those who went were able to receive assistance from more than 25 social service agencies.
By JoANNE VIVIANO
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Shawn Woods tucked a flier in her purse, in a place where she'd be sure to find it later.
"I'm going to school," she said, smiling. "I'm definitely going to school.
"... They gave me all the information. I had to put it in my purse, because I can't pass school up."
The flier tells Woods, 31, ways she can get money for higher education.
The mother of five children isn't homeless but, she said, she has gotten off track since she graduated from The Rayen School. She had a substance-abuse problem and an unhealthy relationship.
About the event
But on Thursday, she was looking forward.
Woods was one of several hundred people who registered for the Mahoning Valley Homeless Coalition's Stand Down 2002, held throughout the day at the Salvation Army post on Glenwood Avenue.
"This is the only time in the history of the Valley that people who are economically deprived and homeless have been required to pre-register and receive social services before they can get food and clothing," said organizer George Otto of the Veterans Administration Healthcare System of Ohio.
It also was the first time the coalition passed out "street cards" to those who came to the event. The photocopied sheets have maps, addresses and telephone numbers linking users to various social service agencies in Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
Homelessness, Otto said, is to end in 10 years, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"If that's going to happen, people have to learn to work harder and take care of themselves," he said.
"... Most people who are here are individuals who require a considerable amount of assistance," Otto continued.
"... They somehow have to make their way through the world better than they did before. Agencies have to work together to give a hand up instead of a hand out."
How many showed up
Randall Reese of the VA Healthcare System of Ohio said about 300 to 400 people had arrived at the Stand Down by about noon; 940 had preregistered for the event.
"Stand Down," Otto said, is a military term. The Vietnam veteran said it was a time for soldiers to "rest, relax and get resources in the base camp before going out into the field."
Ernest Street, 50, of Youngstown is also a U.S. military veteran. So were 12 percent of those who received help Thursday.
Now living at the Rescue Mission shelter, Street said he filled out several job applications and an application for a low-rent apartment though the Youngstown Metropolitan Housing Authority.
He is also signing up for schooling; he wants to learn computer-assisted drafting.
Those entering the Stand Down were able to receive haircuts and medical and dental services.
They also found information on more than 25 social service agencies in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, including mental health, substance-abuse and addiction services, financial and legal services, housing opportunities and job and education opportunities.
In looking to the future, agencies have to continue working together, Otto said.
He said he hopes to see change in the social service area alongside the other changes happening in the area.
"We're at the beginning of a new era," he said.