East Lewis County veterans and family members attend Veterans Stand Down in Randle

Mar. 27—Lewis County staff and the Lewis County Veterans Advisory Board held their first Veterans Stand Down event in Randle on Saturday, March 23, as part of an effort to give veterans and their families living in East Lewis County easier access to benefits and services.

Heidi Palmer — the Lewis County veterans benefit specialist and a U.S. Army veteran — said they had 10 veterans and their families attend, with 36 people showing up in total.

"When repairing relationships with a community it takes time, patience, grace and showing up," Palmer said in an email to The Chronicle. "We are showing our veterans in the east end of the county that we are working on repairing that disconnect."

Eleven agencies and nonprofits were on hand to provide veterans and their families services, including:

—The American Red Cross

—Cascade Community Healthcare

—Destination, Hope & Recovery

—Daisy's Hair Salon

—PTSD Hope for Heroes Equine Therapy

—Veterans Journey Forward

—The Washington Department of Veterans Affairs Internship Program

—The Department of Veterans Affairs HUD Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing

—Housing Opportunities of Southwest Washington Veterans Integration Program

—Catholic Community Services Supportive Services for Veteran Families

—The Lewis County Veterans Advisory Board

While Palmer does hope to hold another Veterans Stand Down in East Lewis County, the county will be organizing the next one, tentatively scheduled for September, in the Twin Cities area.

"All of our stand downs are focused on unhoused veterans, but we want to be able to reach out and provide resources to all of our veterans and their families in the county," Palmer said.

Additionally, the Veterans Memorial Museum in Chehalis, where the nonprofit Veterans Journey Forward is based, will be hosting its own pair of veterans resource fairs beginning next month.

The first Veterans Journey Forward Resource Fair is scheduled for Sunday, April 21, from noon to 2 p.m., and the second will be held on Saturday, July 13, from noon to 2 p.m., both at the Veterans Memorial Museum, located at 100 SW Veterans Way in Chehalis.

For more information, call the museum at 360-740-8875, follow the Veterans Memorial Museum on Facebook or visit https://www.veteransmuseum.org/.

For more information on the upcoming Veterans Stand Down in the Fall, email Palmer at Heidi.Palmer@lewiscountywa.gov.

___

(c)2024 The Chronicle (Centralia, Wash.)

Visit The Chronicle (Centralia, Wash.) at www.chronline.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.