Vietnam Veterans Stand Down 2004
By Rebecca Wilkowski, Pacific College Media

Stand Down 2004 is a weekend event held each summer to provide the homeless veteran population (and their families) with desperately needed services. Pacific College of Oriental Medicine will be providing free massage and acupuncture treatments during the event on Saturday and Sunday July 16 & 17, 2004 from 9 am to 5 pm at San Diego High School football field located at 1405 Park Blvd.

In times of war, exhausted combat units requiring time to rest and recover were removed from the battlefields to a place of relative security and safety. Today, Stand Down refers to a grassroots, community-based intervention program designed to help the nation's estimated 275,000 homeless veterans "combat" life on the streets. The hand up, not a handout philosophy of Stand Down is carried out through the work of hundred of volunteers and organizations throughout the nation.

The concept of Stand Down, as related specifically to the homeless veteran crisis, was the brainchild of two Vietnam Veterans, Robert Van Keuren and Dr. Jon Natchison. The first Stand Down was held in San Diego during the summer of 1988. The popularity of the event has steadily grown from the original in 1988 to some 140 annually throughout the nation. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 homeless veterans have received assistance at Stand Downs.

During Stand Down, hundreds of homeless veterans are provided with a wide range of necessities including: food; clothing; medical, dental and vision care; showers; haircuts; legal and mental health assistance; job counseling; housing and recovery program referral; and most importantly, companionship and camaraderie. It is a time for the community to connect with the homeless veteran population and address this crisis that affects each and every town, city and state in this country. Last year's event in San Diego drew over 637 attendees, with massage and acupuncture being the most requested service with 636 treatments given.

Oriental medicine is the major healthcare system for over one quarter of the world's population, and one in ten Americans have tried acupuncture. Cited as an effective system of healthcare by the National Institute of Health and the World Health Organization, acupuncture and Oriental medicine are becoming more popular as patients in increasing numbers are discovering the benefits of Oriental medicine as their primary health care therapy.