"Ohio Valley Goodwill Co-Sponsors 2012 Spring Stand Down"

Friday April 20th marked the occasion of the annual Spring 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: social service, housing assistance, job and computer services, legal support and other needed services.   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 30 service provider agencies were part of this year’s event and hundreds of individuals currently struggling with homelessness participated in the Stand Down. In addition to Ohio Valley Goodwill, other  organizations involved in the Stand Down included: the Veterans Administration, Hamilton County Veterans Services Commission, Social Security Administration, Drop Inn Center, YMCA, Upward Bound Program, Super Jobs and many other organizations. Ohio Valley Goodwill has been offering services to individuals who are homeless and unemployed  for many years. In 2011, the organization served more than 650 veterans and homeless individuals. For more information about Goodwill’s HVRP program, please contact Bill Darnell, 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.