NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. — Dozens of homeless veterans received everything from sleeping bags and toiletries to free haircuts, dental exams and help looking for jobs Thursday in what organizers said is one of the largest programs of its kind in nation.
The local Stand Down Against Homelessness got under way at an armory with the two-day program expected to reach an estimated 3,000 homeless people, about 35 percent of them vets.
Last year, the event helped about 2,000 people. This year's figure is expected to be higher because of the nation's continuing economic woes.
"Right now, I'm just trying to get my life together," said Alvin Williams, who served for six years in the Army during the 1980s. He sleeps each night at a Charleston homeless shelter and is in a VA program to treat substance abuse.
He's been homeless for several years, ever since the housing bubble burst. He hasn't been able to find work installing heating and air conditioning systems.
The local Stand Down event, organized by the Department of Veterans Affairs through its Ralph H. Johnson Medical Center and Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina, is one of dozens staged by the VA nationwide, said VA spokeswoman Tonya Lobbestael.
"This is one of the largest in the nation," she said. "We don't want to see veterans homeless. Anybody who has served in the military should not be in this situation."
The VA estimates as many as 154,000 veterans nationwide are homeless.
"As recently as a few years ago, 25 percent of the homeless adult males were homeless. We're hoping that will be 15 percent before too long," she said, adding that programs like the Stand Down seem to help.
Michael Myers, a 55-year-old Marine veteran who served for four years in the late 1970s, was homeless and having problems finding work several years ago when he moved to Charleston. He's now working for the VA and lends a hand each year at the Stand Down events helping other homeless vets.
"Some of it we cause ourselves. Some of it is bad luck. But it is kind of worrying that we live in the United States and have so many veterans who are homeless," he said.
Bob Smith, the president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Lower South Carolina, said it's a tough time for all of the homeless.
"There are just so many people in need during these tough times," he said, noting that, an hour after the doors opened at the North Charleston armory where the event was held Thursday, more than 500 people had passed through.
"We're seeing some of the same folks" as last year, he said. "That's unfortunate but the job market is so tough."
Williams said he greatly appreciated the help from Goodwill and the VA, adding he has someone else in his corner as well.
"I'm going to leave it in God's hands. I'm sure it's going to be all right," he said.