I was looking through one of my “junk” folders and came across a picture that brought pleasant memories. It was around August of 1996 when a dear fellow taichi player asked if I wanted to volunteer to a Stand Down. At that time, I had no idea what a “Stand Down” was but it really didn’t matter so I agreed.

Turns out, that a “Stand Down” is a three day weekend organized by the Department of Veterans Affairs’ and it was to become one of the most memorable days in my life…

Here’s a quote from the U.S.D.V.A,

Stand Downs are one part of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ efforts to provide services to homeless veterans.  Stand Downs are typically one to three day events providing services to homeless veterans such as food, shelter, clothing, health screenings, VA and Social Security benefits counseling, and referrals to a variety of other necessary services, such as housing, employment and substance abuse treatment.  Stand Downs are collaborative events, coordinated between local VAs, other government agencies, and community agencies who serve the homeless.

The first Stand Down was organized in 1988 by a group of Vietnam veterans in San Diego.  Since then, Stand Downs have been used as an effective tool in reaching out to homeless veterans, reaching more than 200,000 veterans and their family members between 1994-2000.

So, with my friend Ed Coughlin , who I invited to come along and was completing his last year of acupuncture school, we arrived early in the morning and presented ourselves to the sergeant in charge. He asked what type of health care providers we were. I’m sure they needed to know in order to place us on one of the various tents they had erected on a large football field. They were expecting podiatrists, osteopaths, MDs, nurses, and other medical personnel.

“We are acupuncturists”, I replied. He scratched his head, thought for a minute and suddenly he seemed to have had a light-bulb moment and said: “See all that garbage over there? Pick all that up and put it on that dumpster next to that plastic outhouse, ok”?

Ed and I looked at each other in shock. We were wearing lab jackets and had come here to offer acupuncture and this man wants us to pick up garbage? Just as quickly as our state of shock came upon us, the realization that we had come here to “VOLUNTEER” brought us back to the present and with a smile we went to work.

It was around 10 am and the sun was beating down on us when a nurse came and asked if we dealt with pain. Imagine that! Hundreds of homeless veterans with back pain, shoulder pain, leg pain, should I go on? And the one weekend a year, when a token of “gratitude” for their time in the military is offered by way of medical services, there’s no one in the house, or should I say “under the tent”, who can offer these homeless veterans pain relief. Except, of course, the two guys picking garbage.

We were quickly ushered into a tent where other physicians were attending patients. We were given a little spot on the back of the tent with a little table for our needles and a chair.

Within minutes a line formed in front of us and we started working. They brought us another chair. Later an army cot followed by ice tea, smiles and pads on the back. The next day we had our own tent.

We treated dozens of homeless veterans that weekend including a couple of them who had ingrown toenails. The podiatrist didn’t make it the last day and we were asked to help. “You mean to tell me that acupuncture can treat ingrown toenails? - You ask. Well, no. But a little technique I learned in my native Colombia does wonders and did the trick on that memorable day.

Sunday afternoon we packed our needles and massage lotions. Cleaned our garbage and left the tent. The sergeant thanked us the other doctors shook our hands and into the gym we headed. Tears flowed on both Ed’s my eyes when several hundred veterans stood up and applauded us as a gesture of gratitude.

A Stand Down I’ll never forget…

ah, so young and thin...good times.