"Ohio Valley Goodwill Co-Sponsors 2010 Stand Down Event!"

Team Members: L to R Melanie Brown, Candace Green, Neal Hutchinson and Claudette Crawford. Friday, April 23rd marked the occasion of the 3rd Annual Stand Down event co-sponsored by Ohio Valley Goodwill’s Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program (HVRP) and hosted by Mercy Franciscan at St. John in Over the Rhine. The purpose of the event is to draw attention to the needs of homeless veterans and to offer a variety of services for these individuals including: housing assistance, job services, legal support, haircuts and medical attention. A hot lunch is served to all participants in addition to the distribution of clothing to individuals as needed. The phrase ” stand down” comes from an old military term relating to a time that military personnel could have their personal needs attended to. More than 20 service provider agencies were part of this year’s event and hundreds of individuals currently struggling with homelessness, participated in the 2010 Stand Down. In addition to Ohio Valley Goodwill, other sponsors for the Stand Down include: Cincinnati Veteran’s Administration, Mercy Franciscan-St. John, the Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, Church of the Redeemer, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, and Bruegger’s. Ohio Valley Goodwill has been offering services to individuals who are homeless and unemployed for many years. In 2009, the organization served more than 600 veterans and homeless individuals. For more information about Goodwill’s HVRP program, please contact Mick Fusco, Grants Manager at (513) 631-4500. Ohio Valley Goodwill is grateful to Mercy Franciscan at St. John for their on-going support of this important annual community outreach event.