The North Bay Stand Down has changed to a one-day rest from the daily battle of living on the streets. Homeless and/or At-Risk Veterans are met by caring Volunteer Ambassadors along with a fresh cup of coffee and breakfast and will be guided through the process of getting a “hand up”. The veterans are provided with medical, dental, vision, recovery, housing, employment, and other social services as well as food, clothing, showers, and haircuts. We have grown substantially since our start in 2002 and now provide new jeans, sweatshirts and boots, as well as healthy, nutritious meals, in place of the fast food and high-carb foods many of our homeless veterans are accustomed to eating.
Although this is a once a year event, funds for the event are raised throughout the year and planning takes about nine months. Our funding comes from federal, state, local, and private grants along with numerous donations from the community. Although the Dixon Fairgrounds is provided free-of-charge, we have storage challenges and must rent much of the equipment (kitchen, forklift, vans, etc.) we need to run the event.
Each year, we successfully place a number of stand down attendees in transitional housing and rehabilitation programs. Numerous veterans receive the one or two services they needed to put their lives back on track and move forward. For this reason, we continue to provide our homeless veterans with “a hand-up, not a hand-out”. The truest testament to our successes are when previously homeless veterans who received a “hand-up” return as volunteers to mentor those who are currently homeless.
North Bay Stand Down has been assisting homeless and/or at-risk veterans since 2002 in the counties of Napa, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo, California. We do not turn away veterans from other counties (Alameda, Contra Costa, Sacramento, San Francisco, etc.). If you know of a veteran in need of our program, they can register here.
North Bay Operation Hand Up Quick Facts:
- Over 90% of all funds raised are utilized for direct services to the homeless veterans who attend the Stand Down. We are an all-volunteer organization.
- Since 2002 we have provided services, hot meals, showers, and sleeping bags to 2,900 veterans along with their 333 family members.
- Through 2018, 2,000 court cases have been adjudicated, 566 DMV ID cards issued, over 32,400 pieces of clothing and bedding have been issued. Over 25,300 meals have been served and 9,135 volunteers have assisted our veterans.
- We became a 501(c)(3) organization – North Bay Operation Hand Up – in July 2008 (ID #26-1899796).