The Tallahassee Veterans Organization welcomed Leon County’s veterans to the Al Lawson Center for the first day of their 14th annual Stand Down event.

The purpose of the event is connecting local veterans with community support. Those interested in attending can also catch the event’s second day on May 16 which will last from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m..

“It’s been going on for a very long time, because we have a lot of veterans who are either homeless or at risk and they’re not able to have the services that they need or they may not know how to locate those services… and they may not have the funds,” said event coordinator Althamese Smith.

The types of services offered covered all sorts of areas. There was veterans affairs, local insurance brokers, government offices such as the Leon County Property Appraiser and the Leon County Clerk of Courts, legal services, healthcare from free health screenings to chiropractic experiences, even free haircuts.

“The Stand Down has grown basically through word of mouth, for one, and then having it where you start to meet with the veteran support services, they also have other connections that they work with as well,” Smith said.

Some of those connections included free transportation for veterans attending the event thanks to StarMetro and the TVO worked with Second Harvest who brought 300 meal kits for veterans to take with them.

Many veterans look forward to this event year after year, while for others this was their first year. But the appreciation is the same as they are glad to be seen by their community.

“It feels amazing that we have these services in one local area, where we could just come in and actually sit down and that we actually get to meet new veterans,” said Teesha, an Army veteran. She attended with her friend Courtney and both were interested to find out about free dental healthcare.

Others were excited to learn about the opportunities of housing such as Joe Bowick, an Air Force veteran: “I am grateful to even be a part of this.”

Alongside many veterans were their spouses.

“I think (the event) is wonderful,” said a woman named Martha. “A lot of people can’t afford anything and they give you a lot of stuff here, information and everything.”

Arianna Otero is the trending and breaking news reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com and follow her on X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Veterans gather at Al Lawson center for 2026 Stand Down event