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During the 13th annual Santa Barbara County Veterans Stand Down in October, 427 veterans received services – including 69 unhoused veterans.
The event, held during the course of one day at the Santa Maria Fairpark, included access to more than 130 services, including healthcare checks, haircuts, clothing, shoes and boots, food, legal services, mental health counseling, pet resources, dental care, snack packs, religious encouragement, vision screenings and referrals to family law, among other resources.
Of the 427 people registered, 69 classified themselves as homeless – a significant decrease from a high of 171 homeless veterans registered in 2018.
This year, 37 women veterans attended, with three classifying themselves as being unhoused, according to 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino, who founded the event and is aided by coordinator Sandy Agalos and a volunteer committee of about 100 people.
“I want to acknowledge the excellent work that was done with homeless veterans this year,” Lavagnino said. “We saw very few individuals experiencing homelessness come through, which is a testament to the ongoing efforts in Santa Barbara County. While the housing crisis for veterans will always require attention, the progress being made is something to be proud of.”
The Greater Los Angeles Veterans Administration, led by Ray Franco, will follow-up with all the veterans registered at this year’s Stand Down.
Each veteran arriving on the day was greeted by fellow veterans from the American Legion Riders Orcutt Chapter 534. They were then paired with an active duty Vandenberg Space Force Base escort. Vandenberg members carried the veterans’ bags and other items and shared stories throughout the day.
This year, 576 people volunteered for the effort, including 141 active duty representatives from Vandenberg. The “Team Vandenberg” crew assisted with staging the event from beginning to end; greeted veterans at the arriving buses; served food in the meal line; worked in the convention center restocking and sorting items and more, Lavagnino said.
“We couldn’t do it without them,” he added.
The age range of veterans attending spanned from 12 people in the 21-30 range to 127 in the 61-70 year-old range. Four veterans were aged between 91 to 93, Lavagnino said.
During a recent debrief session for committee members, Lavagnino presented awards for Volunteer of the Year, Business of the Year and County Stand Down Employee of the Year.
Volunteer of the Year is Vince Lopez, of Vince Lopez and Sons Construction.
“Vince has supported SB County Veterans Stand Down and the community in so many ways,” Lavagnino said. “He is passionate about supporting veterans and their families, particularly those struggling with homelessness.”
A Navy veteran, Vince also donates the use of his utility vehicle every year for use during the event.
Business of the Year was Starbucks and Orcutt store manager Hazel McGready. McGready, an Air Force veteran, and her store provided almost 40 gallons of coffee for the Stand Down.
The company has supported Stand Down by providing coffee for the event for years.
“We are grateful for the service and sacrifice of veterans of all generations and the difference Starbucks has helped make for veterans,” Lavagnino said. “It is deserving of the highest commendations and the deepest appreciation of the community.”
Another Business of the Year honoree was Mission Linen, for donating towels to Stand Down for use in showers and haircut areas. This year, the firm helped when an emergency arose the afternoon before the event. Several pallets of clothing meant for veterans was discovered wet in the storage unit.
“Mission Linen stepped up to help,” Lavagnino said.
The jackets were loaded up by volunteers and delivered to Mission Linen, which returned them at 9 a.m. the next morning – just in time for Stand Down.
“Mission Linen believes in actively supporting the communities where we live and work,” the supervisor added.
Esmeralda “Esme” Medina, Community Outreach coordinator for Santa Barbara County Animal Services was named “County Employee of the Year” for Stand Down. She and her team delivered services in the Stand Down Pet Zone to more than 65 veteran pets.
“She recruits volunteers and gathers supplies all year long for Stand Down,” Lavagnino said. “She is thankful to the veterinarians, groomers and the Pet Zone volunteers who make it all happen … Esme spends two days onsite setting up Pet Zone, making sure every detail is complete and ready for the event.”
Lavagnino spoke to the organization committee about the future of the event. He plans to retire when his fourth supervisorial term is completed at the end of 2026. A number of other key members of the organizational team are also retiring, he noted.
“Let’s see what happens,” Lavagnino said. “We’re going to be in transition and I don’t really know what that’s going to look like. We still have funds. We still have some things. But it’s going to transition to something else, and we don’t know really what that is.”
But, he added, 13 years ago the event started with more than 200 homeless veterans.
“Data in the county shows that we’ve done a really good job on housing those who want to be housed at this point,” he noted. “Obviously, there’s still a lot of need out there … We’ve got time to figure that out.”
For more information about the Santa Barbara County Stand Down, visit http://sbcountystanddown.com. Contact Stand Down Coordinator Sandy Agalos at sandy.agalos@gmail.com for more information.
