Helping Homeless Veterans

This weekend at the Arizona State Fair, Young Democrats volunteered 48 hours to help homeless veterans. The East Valley Working Young Democrats partnered with the Arizona Democratic Party Veterans Caucus to assist a local veterans group that holds an annual event to help homeless veterans in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

U.S. Vets, which organizes the three day event at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum, brings together services like VA benefits counselors, local courts to address outstanding warrants, local homeless shelters and public housing organizations to help veterans find a place to live, and provides basic resources like hygiene kits, clothes, and food. Unfortunately, U.S. Vets has to rent the Veterans Memorial Coliseum to host this event. To cover this cost, the Arizona State Fair allowed volunteers to help during the 2009 fair and for every hour of volunteer work, $10.67 was paid toward the $5,000 total cost of renting the Coliseum for the Veterans Stand Down.

By volunteering to watch the State Fair children’s play area and keep kids safe, members of the East Valley Working YDs and ASUYDs contributed over $500 in volunteer hours to help the valley’s veterans get services they deserve. We’re proud to serve just a few hours to help those who have served their country.