Veterans Stand Up provide vital services and lunch in Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Local veterans came together for a solid meal and some help with services at a Veterans Stand Up event at the Veterans Memorial Building on Cabrillo Blvd.

Veteran Service Organizations assisted with benefits, information, and a variety of other opportunities including employment all in one room.

The event ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday with a sit down lunch provided.

Organizations involved include Santa Barbara County Veterans Advisory Commission, Santa Barbara County Veterans Collaborative, Santa Barbara County Veterans Foundation, and American Legion Post #49.

Specialists were on hand to help with VA claims, providing information about the PACT Act, medical and mental health care, employment, housing, education, legal assistance, recreation, vocational training, Honor Flights, VA home loans, family care, senior care, and counseling.

Army Veteran Matthew Nancarrow said, "the best thing to have under one roof is veterans will communicate with other veterans as well as service directors who communicate with other service directors. We have behavioral wellness and we have housing sometimes somebody won't talk in between them and right now it gives everyone one place to walk across, communicate and  hand out business cards to each other. "

At the door there was a welcoming hand shake and a room full of services ahead. Air Force Veteran Alvin Salve who is involved in several veterans related service boards said, "we have 26 - 27 veterans service organizations with display tables here that cover the whole gamete, everything from  caregiver support to the veteran administration benefits. "

Veterans and their family members could have one on one conversations, possibly with people they have been trying to reach in other ways.

Russ Lazarenko is a veteran who was impressed with the presentation. "Everybody is really friendly.  Everybody is really knowledgeable about what they got going here. It's just terrific. They really need it.    After they get out where do they go? You tell me. Where do they go?"

For those who missed the event, "if they just come into the Veterans building here, we have a complete contacts list for everyone who was here," said Nancarrow.