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Effort To Help Deming Homeless Veterans

  ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico VA Health Care System (NMVAHCS) will join several other federal, state and local agencies on April 30 in reaching out to help Deming’s homeless veterans.

The 2014 Deming Stand Down will take place at the National Guard Armory, 700 S. Pearl, Deming.   The event will run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. for veterans only, and 12-2 p.m. for veterans and non-veterans.

Staff from the NMVAHCS Health Care for Homeless Veterans (HCHV) Programs Team will provide information about VA benefits, housing assistance, legal assistance, employment, counseling, dental and health care, in addition to clothing and hygiene kits.  Food and drinks will be available at the stand down.

The Las Cruces Vet Center will bring its Mobile Vet Center (MVC) to the event to provide information and assistance to veterans and family members.  The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) maintains a fleet of 70 Mobile Vet Centers that are designed to extend the reach of Vet Center services through focused outreach, direct service provision, and referral to communities that do not meet the requirements for a “brick and mortar” Vet Center, but where there are veterans, service members, and their families in need of services.  Each MVC, including the one from the Las Cruces Vet Center, includes confidential counseling space for direct service provision as well as a state-of-the-art satellite communications package that includes fully encrypted teleconferencing equipment, access to all VA systems, and connectivity to emergency response systems. Vet Center staff members regularly collaborate with VA partners to create a single VA footprint at events to ensure access to all available VA services and benefits. 

Other participants include staff from the New Mexico Veterans Integration Center, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, New Mexico Department of Veterans Services, New Mexico Legal Aid, Vietnam Veterans of America, Southwestern New Mexico Transition Center and other organizations committed to ending homelessness.

Backpacks, sleeping bags, underwear items and food are needed for the event.  For more information or to donate, please contact Terry Athey at (575) 694-0148.  More information about the VA’s Homeless Veterans Program also can be found at http://www.va.gov/homeless/.