HONOLULU -- The Honolulu's Mayor's Office partnered with the 8th Theater Sustainment Command to handout information to the homeless veterans in the area about the 2015 Veterans Stand Down at the Beretania Community Park Aug. 6.
The stand down is part of the Mayors Challenge to End Veteran Homelessness initiative, announced by first lady Michelle Obama, as a way to challenge the mayors in major cities to provide services and supplies to homeless veterans such as food, shelter, clothing, medical, dental and benefits counseling with the hope of getting them off the streets.
Eleven Soldiers from the 8th TSC volunteered to comb the streets of Honolulu in four areas known for their dense population of homeless veterans, August 5.
"It makes my heart sad that so many vets are lost or forgotten," said Master Sgt. Luther Hobbs, the 8th TSC Plans and Operations noncommissioned officer in charge. "It is my obligation to insure that my past and present service members are afforded the opportunity to live a sustainable life."
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, approximately 22.5 million individuals within the U.S. homeless population were veterans in 2014. That is approximately one in ten homeless adults.
We are hoping the soldiers who come out in uniform attract the veterans because of the military connection, said Schoen Safotu, the main volunteer coordinator for the stand down. We will have the Mayor's Office of Housing, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the U.S. Department of Labor there to provide assistance if the veterans want the help.
The biggest challenge the volunteers faced was those veterans who did not want assistance or lost faith in the government.
We need to do this on a bigger scale, said Hobbs. We can find the veterans but they need to want help in order for this to be effective.
After three and a half hours of walking the streets, Safotu addressed the Soldiers.
Thank you for coming out to help the veterans in Honolulu. We really appreciate it, said Safotu. We hope that we can get them the assistance they need because no veteran should be homeless in their own country.
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