TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Serving those who served America. That’s the mantra of the Tallahassee Veteran Organization, a group that pours everything into making sure local veterans know help is out there.
TVO was formed in 2020, born from a tradition that had started in Leon County seven years earlier.
Retired Army Colonel Washington Sanchez serves as vice president for the group. He brought the first Homeless Veterans Stand Down to the North Florida Fairgrounds in 2013.
He had heard about a similar event in San Diego making a world of difference for veterans in Southern California. He made the trek west to check it out.
“I was amazed,” he told WCTV. ”I was very, very impressed with what they were doing. And so I said, we can do this. We can definitely do this,” Sanchez said.
Col. Sanchez spent two combat tours in Vietnam. He’s spent his life post-war working to lift up his fellow veterans.
In the years since that first campout on the fairgrounds, the event has swelled in size, bringing dozens of local, state and federal resources under one roof.
One of the first booths veterans encounter is for the local Department of Veterans Affairs office. Col. Sanchez says too many veterans shun the VA and its benefits.
“The stories that they hear about the VA are not necessarily true,” he said.
“They need to give them a chance to, to prove it to them.”
Althamese Smith is TVO’s event coordinator, spending months organizing the annual event.
“We do have an enormous amount of individuals that we partner with to make TVO be who it is today,” she said.
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For the past few years, Florida A&M’s Al Lawson Center has played host.
“We let them know that you are worth bringing all these resources together,” Smith said.
The bustling marketplace there is alive with activity. Barbers are hard at work offering haircuts. Masseuses dig in, offering massages to relieve pain and stress.
And down below, the sound of dogs barking fills the Lawson Center’s inner hallways.
Northwood Animal Hospital Veterinarian Dr. Sondra Brown has been with the Stand Down from the start. Her free vet clinic is sometimes the only way for a veteran’s best friend to get vital care.
“Sometimes they’re making difficult choices between paying the rent or paying for their animals’ medications that they need,” she said.
“We do full exams, heartworm tests, feline leukemia, FIV tests on the cats, vaccines.”
Veteran Kenneth Copeland first encountered the Stand Down almost a decade ago, during a time of his life he needed a helping hand.
“After that first time, it was like I was in love,” he said.
It didn’t take long for Copeland to repay the favor, serving as a volunteer himself.
“Anything, you know, for my fellow vets, because they looked out for me. So, you know, why not, you know, try to give back? That’s the biggest thing.”
He now helps Second Harvest of the Big Bend each year distribute non-perishable goods to veterans at the Stand Down.
Looking ahead, TVO is on a mission to grow. Working for years on a tight budget, they’re now aiming to hold more events throughout the year.
They just expanded the Stand Down to include spouses of those who served.
“Making sure that we’re able to extend some of the funds out to them as well,” Smith said.
“For some of those who have lost their spouses, they haven’t been able to really get up on their feet. ”
The mission remains clear: bring an entire village under one roof to give a hero a better tomorrow.
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