COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Mt. Carmel and 63 other agencies are hoping to help up to 200 veterans experiencing homelessness in El Paso County on Tuesday. It’s the 27th annual “Colorado Springs Stand Down,” hosted at Weidner Field, downtown.
Mt. Carmel says the term “stand down” was created in World War II, where military members were told to “stand down” for rest and recovery after combat. Today, the term is used nationwide, asking veterans experiencing homelessness to “stand down” for a day to receive resources that’ll help them through the winter.
“They’ll get assigned a sponsor and that person will walk around with them pretty much all day while they’re here,” Mt. Carmel’s Director of Program & Evaluation Mark Smith explained about Tuesday’s event. “Then they’ll hit the second floor, hit all the resource tables, and then if they’re borderline homeless or homeless, they’ll be able to get sleeping bags, warm weather gear, boots, jeans, t-shirts.”…