By Kara Shire
Tri-Valley Herald

Sept. 26, 1999

DUBLIN — It wasn't until he was curled up on cold concrete that James Williams decided to clean himself up.

The 57-year-old grandfather just couldn't handle sleeping on the streets.

So after a lifetime of drug and alcohol abuse, Williams finally got help.

"As long as I had a roof over my head I was content to just sit and smoke (crack)," said Williams, a warmhearted man with a pot belly and shy smile. "I would get up in the morning, get me a cart and go out and find some cans to recycle so I could get some drugs."

Williams is not unique. There are 7,000 men in the Bay Area with similar stories. They are veterans who sleep on the street, eat what they can and do nothing more than survive.

Next weekend, they're getting a few days off.

The East Bay Stand Down is a nation wide annual event that gives homeless veterans and their families a vacation of sorts. The four-day event is being held at Camp Parks in Dublin and begins Thursday.

Stand Down is a term used during combat when troops are removed from the field to give them a break. According to the Vietnam Veterans of Diablo Valley, Stand Downs for needy veterans have taken place in more than 100 cities across the country.

Nearly 500 vets will be bussed in to Camp Parks from 10 pick-up points in the Bay Area. A tent city will house the men for three nights.

During the Stand Down, the veterans will be able to stock up on new clothes, eat good food and learn about homeless veteran services.

Showers, haircuts, job referrals, medical care, legal assistance, drug counseling and entertainment will also be offered at the event.

"We want to provide long-term help to as many veterans as we can reach," said Bart Buechner, spokesman for the Stand Down. "We want to let them know that somebody cares and appreciates the service they gave."

Alex McElree, Stand Down executive board member and executive director of Operation Dignity in Oakland, said the homeless situation is only getting worse.

"If we could get the numbers to stop going up, then we'd be happy," McElree said. "The problem is more and more people are one paycheck away from home lessness."

McElree spent six years living on the streets before he founded Operation Dignity, a nonprofit organization that provides service-enriched transitional housing to homeless veterans.

More than 600 people are served by Op eration Dignity annually. Williams is one of them.

"(Operation Dignity) allowed me to get clean and sober," Williams said. "It allowed me to pick my pride back up off the ground."

Stand Down organizers hope to place 20 percent of the men who come to the event in services like Operation Dignity.

McElree and his crew of six employees, all but one formerly homeless, will be out this week searching in cars, under bridges and in alleyways -- looking for Stand Down candidates.

"We don't come empty handed," he said. "We always come with coffee or a cup of noodles."

All Stand Down participants will be preregistered and screened prior to admission.