1

Social Justice and Community Activism for the North County Veterans Stand Down

Cejamil S. Calderon

Hahn School of Nursing and Health Sciences, University of San Diego

HCIN 548: Health Care Informatics Seminar

Professor Dorothy O’Hagan

18 February 2022
 2

Social Justice and Community Activism for the North County Veterans Stand Down

The social justice and community activism that was conducted was at 5th annual North

County Veterans Stand Down (NCVSD) in Vista California on Sunday September 19th, 2021.

The NCVSD was a four-day event that started from 8 am Thursday, September 16th through

Monday, September 20th. The NCVSD's purpose is to enable various services to homeless

veterans across San Diego County. These homeless veterans had received services in a safe,

drug-free, and secure environment. The NCVSD provided homeless veterans with a wide array

of services that will include the following: medical, vision, and on-site dental, wellness therapies,

hospitality and overnight cabins, hospitality stores, social services, and food services.

The mission statement for the NCVSD is " To restore in our veterans the dignity they

earned and empower them to become productive members of our community." Every year I

would volunteer with the Veteran Stand Down team; whether it was conducted in north county

or downtown San Diego. It truly upsets me that we have an overgrown population of homeless

veterans. I want to make a positive impact to each veteran lives and in-hopes that they can

improve their living situation. I had respectfully volunteered my time working amongst the

medical tent to help homeless veterans receive quality medical care for any medical condition,

and helping the veterans register for social and employment services. I would also help transport

veterans from different services around the stand down campus. I have seen many of my own

friends deal with homelessness and as a proud member of the veteran community, it is my duty

to help my fellow veterans improve their quality of life by providing professional guidance, and

quality medical care. I plan to keep my annual participation with the Veteran Stand Down Team

and hopefully make a true impact in reducing the homeless veteran population in San Diego

County.