Vets lose use of armory for Chicago Standdown; Fosco Park
to the rescue 

By Susan S. Stevens 

Nearly 600 veterans of conflicts ranging from World War II to Iraq jammed a Near West Side park fieldhouse for a two-day service fair, after they received word that the Northwest Armory at Kedzie and North Avenues would not be available to them.

            In the past, veterans groups and social service agencies used the Northwest Armory at Kedzie and North Avenues for Chicago Standdowns, events in which homeless and other veterans receive a variety of services. “Standdown” is a military term for relaxation after a state of alert, and the latest of these semi-annual events was held in the Fosco Park Field House at 14th and Racine Streets instead of at the armory.

            Stories conflict as to why the vets could not use the armory.

“Unfortunately, due to the Patriot Act, we cannot use the armory anymore,” said Trent Ward of the Jesse Brown Veterans Administration Center.

A spokeswoman for the Illinois National Guard, however said everyone stationed at the armory was in Arkansas at that time for pre-deployment exercises, and the absence of armory personnel was why it was not available.

Whatever the reason, as a result Ald. Robert Fioretti (2nd Ward) and standdown organizers pressed Fosco Park into service.

            “We owe our vets deep gratitude, which the standdowns help repay,” Fioretti said, noting about one-third of the homeless in Chicago are veterans.

            “Fosco Park was very inviting,” said Jean Douglas, team leader at the Oak Park Veterans Center. “It was a little small, but I think we adapted well.”

            “We are so fortunate to land this venue because it is accessible,” said Samuel Miller of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

            Though the standdown was aimed at the homeless, it offered aid to each veteran who attended.

            By the second hour of the service fair, 400 veterans had lined up in the park. Some were in wheelchairs; some pushed walkers. A number pushed shopping carts. Hundreds carried bags of belongings they could check in a room while they sought help ranging from medical care and clothing to employment advice. By the end of the second day, 578 veterans had been served.

            “It was a beautiful turnout,” said Jennifer Moseley of FeatherFist, a not-for-profit agency that tries to place homeless people in housing. “They are homeless but they are not hopeless.”

            “We did 268 pairs of glasses,” Douglas said, “800 hepatitis C and HIV screenings, 85 dental screenings, 100 medical appointments–mostly podiatry, 284 photo IDs, and 100 haircuts.”

            “The purpose of the standdown is to bring vets who have never been hooked up to the VA system into it for whatever they need,” said Michael F. Rauen of the Hines VA Hospital.

            About 300 volunteers from about 30 agencies participated, serving free breakfast, lunch, and dinner and setting up about 100 cots in the Fosco gym so homeless vets could spend the night.

            Douglas hopes the federal government will provide word that the armory is available before the next standdown, tentatively set for Friday, Nov. 7, so it can take place in the Northwest Armory in the Humboldt Park community. At that standdown, volunteers will offer flu shots and provide winter clothing—“all that we can do to prepare them for winter,” Douglas said.