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Fairground home to veteran resources fair Wednesday

Pharos-Tribune - 9/19/2022

Sep. 19—Cass County veterans and those from neighboring counties will have the opportunity to learn about resources available to them.

The American Veterans (AMVETS) of the Cpl. Humberto Sanchez Post #82621 in Logansport will host a Stand Down from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday. More than 30 vendors will be in attendance at the event, which takes place at the Cass County 4-H Fairgrounds, 2281 E. County Road 125 North inside the community center.

A Stand Down, which comes from the military term meaning a cessation of offense, is an event that provides help to veterans.

Resources at Wednesday's event will include information on organizations, nursing homes, home health care, fitness, insurance, investing, job placement, mental health and more.

Veterans in attendance do not need to bring any of their records to the event.

Roger Spencer, AMVETS Commander, said home health care is something many veterans don't consider.

"Even if it's rehab, getting knees replaced, a lot of the nursing homes do rehab now and then home health care, if you need checkups afterward. A lot of us veterans are in that age group to be wearing body parts out so I thought that was a good thing to bring in, home health care," he said.

Some of the resources are particularly centered around younger veterans who have finished active duty, such as information on insurance and investments. Spencer said that many veterans come back and don't realize they need to get their own life insurance after their service comes to an end. There are also opportunities for those veterans to learn about investing and find help with job placement if needed.

"They are going to be in the workforce now and need to think about retirement," Spencer said.

Mental health care was of a particular concern to Spencer. He said on average 22 veterans commit suicide per day and that post-traumatic stress disorder was one of the biggest challenges facing many veterans. A table will be available with information for those seeking help.

"Most of us vets do try to help," Spencer said. "Our door is always open to them. It's whether they let us in or not. Every once in a while you get a phone call — 'I just need to talk to somebody today.' And that's a good thing. At least they are reaching out. That's the first part. Then we can always direct them to where they need to go. But they have to reach out. And a lot of the time they will reach out to their brothers first — somebody who knows what happened and knows what is going on."

Spencer said as a veteran it is important to help his brothers and sisters who served. He said the AMVETS provides resources to allow him better help more veterans.

Veterans will have the opportunity to receive a free haircut at the event, and Tyson is sponsoring a free lunch. Other major sponsors include The United Way and The Indiana Department of Veterans Affairs. Home Depot will also be present at the event.

Cass County Transit will be available to help disabled veterans attend the event. For more information call 574-753-5555.

The AMVETS is one of the oldest veteran organizations and is open to all veterans, regardless of when they served. Veterans interested in joining may contact Spencer at 574-355-6011.

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