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Summer '98 Homeless Standdown

By Brooke Anderson

Student activists of the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative (PRC) in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois have benefited over the years from the leadership and friendship of VVAW members. Veteran activists have provided leadership development, security training, historical perspective, advice, and inspiration to the next generation of activists working on issues of social justice. This year, we students thought we would give a little bit back and join VVAW members in volunteering at the 1998 Summer Standdown for homeless veterans.

On July 25 we traveled to the Humboldt Park National Guard Armory in Chicago for our first ever Standdown, a biannual event sponsored by the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Many diverse activist and service organizations as well as government and private agencies come together to provide food and assistance to homeless veterans in the Chicago area. The Summer Standdown crew fed over 850 homeless veterans; handed out clothing and supplies; provided information about housing, employment, and benefits; gave haircuts; fitted eyeglasses; and much more.

Together, VVAW and PRC volunteers devoted themselves to cleaning the kitchen, carrying supplies, and serving food and drink. As Rose Stremlau, a PRC student activist, commented:

"The Standdown shocked me. I wasn't surprised to see the diversity of veterans in need, but I was surprised by both the diversity of services offered and by the wide spectrum of organizations which worked together to provide these services. It isn't too often that I would listen to a grumpy man in a POW/MIA shirt and fatigues tell me how to pour apple juice and almost have a good time doing it, knowing that I was part of a greater collaborative effort."

Despite the 100+ degree weather outside (and probably twice that in the kitchen), energy, commitment, and smiles abounded the whole day through. Hank Emerle, a UIUC student activist, remarked:

"The Standdown was an incredible opportunity for me to be an active participant in an event geared not only at satisfying the immediate needs of a marginalized segment of society, but also empowering these very same people to take action on their own behalf. Not often does one get a chance to make a difference in someone's life on multiple levels at once. This two-pronged attack on social injustice is to me a model for active change in society that can be applied in many different ways. I am glad that I could be a part of an event such as this."

Brooke Anderson is a junior at the University of Illinois. She currently works with the Progressive Resource/Action Cooperative in the struggle to eliminate "Chief Illiniwek" as the racist mascot and symbol of the University.