NAC Reaches Out to Veterans
On February 5th and 6th, 2010, Native American Connections participated in the annual Veteran's Stand Down held at The Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Hundreds of service providers turned out to offer services to disadvantaged and homeless veterans.
NAC not only provided materials on affordable and homeless housing opportunities and behavioral health programs but also distributed over 100 wool blankets, two bags of socks, 50 healthcare kits, 100 bars of soap and 20 cases of bottled water! A big thank you goes out to Home Base Youth Services for helping to provide donations! Some of the services veterans were able to receive were haircuts, hot meals, medical checks and prescription medication.
The event was kicked off by The Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1011 with a flag raising and the national anthem. Several community members showed up to support veterans and the service providers who were there to help including Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, Congressman Harry Mitchell from the US House of Representatives in District 5 of Arizona, Councilman Michael Nowakowski from the City of Phoenix District 7, Councilman Claude Maddox from the City of Phoenix District 5, Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, Rebecca Flanagan Director of Housing and Urban Development for the Phoenix Field Office and Colonel Joey Strickland Director of Arizona Department of Veteran Services. Governor Brewer and Rebecca Flanagan stopped by to thank NAC for their commitment to the community!
NAC staff including Michele Honanie, Stacy Sanicola, Dino Haley, Pedro Bravo, Sarlyn DeClay and Angey Blake from housing and behavioral health departments volunteered their time to support the veterans and support NAC!