Hundreds attend 38th annual Stand Down for a hand up from homelessness

By Gary Warth

July 20, 2026

They came for legal advice, new clothes, haircuts and even dental work, and many left with housing opportunities and the first steps toward a new life.

The 38th annual Stand Down was held for the second year in a row at Liberty Station on July 17-18 to connect local veterans facing or experiencing homelessness with a variety of services to help them overcome immediate and long-term challenges.

“You only really need to walk around the event to see that there are folks who desperately need the help,” said Akilah Templeton, CEO of Veterans Village of San Diego. “If they’re not homeless, they may be struggling with mental health challenges or perhaps they need a little extra assistance accessing resources.”

About 750 people attended the two-day event, including 706 veterans, 30 family members and 14 active-duty individuals, Templeton said. This year’s Stand Down drew slightly more than last year, which attracted 533 veterans, 76 of their dependents and four active-duty individuals for a total of 613.

The official count for 2024 was 491, but Templeton said the number likely was higher.

VVSD launched Stand Down in 1988 to help homeless veterans and raise awareness of their situation. It was the first of its kind when launched and has since inspired about 200 similar Stand Downs across the country.

The plight of homeless veterans has significantly improved since then through the expansion of targeted services and the creation of the HUD-VASH (Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing) voucher program in 1992.

The number of homeless veterans nationally has significantly decreased over the past 20 years, dropping from about 200,000 to around 30,000 today.

Stand Down also has changed. Until two years ago, homeless veterans at the event could stay over the weekend in an on-site tent city. This year, 20 people who would have stayed in the tents instead were shuttled to other available beds or to the VVSD campus.

“The old Stand Down model resembled a base camp,” Templeton said. “We have changed gears in recent years to make the event resemble more of a resource fair, but  what we’ve held on to is the intensity of the resources provided. We’re still using that model where we’re jam-packing a lot of services in a short period of time so that veterans can see real results.”

More than 150 community partners, service providers and other organizations participated, with the County of San Diego providing a variety of services.

Child support services, driver license assistance, debt relief options, family legal aid and many other forms of assistance were among the offerings from the County of San Diego. Representatives from the County’s Public Defender’s Office also were on hand to connect people to Homeless Court and provide help clearing criminal records and fines.

“Stand Down really creates an opportunity for us to bring all of those resources to veterans so that they can address a lot of their challenges in the moment,” Templeton said. “They’re resolving court matters. If they have a pair of glasses that has been broken for six months, they can get those fixed. They can have a tooth pulled. They can speak with a case manager. They can get some assistance if they’re facing eviction, and it can all be taken care of on the spot.”

Of the people attending this year, Templeton said about 30% were truly homeless and 70% were in transition and may need additional help to remain housed. Twenty people who attended Stand Down were placed into housing, she said.

The California Cool Air Rebate program was among the partners at this year’s event, and the state used the opportunity to launch its new program for veterans, active-duty personnel and family members. The program covers 95% of vehicle air condition repairs up to $1,500 for qualifying low-income households.

The Friday program kicked off with a keynote address from U.S. Rep. Scott Peters and concluded Saturday afternoon with a Color Guard presentation and comments from San Diego Veterans’ Coalition President Ron Stark.

“Here we have a community that’s come together with one purpose, and that is to end homelessness for veterans and their families,” he said. “And this is a pretty big deal.

“Stand Down in military terms is not a retreat,” Stark continued. “It’s a backing away from the action to get propped up so you can re-engage. The action that we’re standing down from is homelessness amongst veterans. That is a huge fight. And here, you got your legs up underneath you. You got some food. You got some resources. And you got some folks in your corner.”