Standing up for veterans

Maxine Green with Veterans Helping Veterans USA gave several haircuts throughout the Veteran Stand Down event on June 7, including for veteran Michael Hughes. [Photo by Andy Fillmore]

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Posted June 9, 2025 | By Andy Fillmore, [email protected]

A Veteran Stand Down was hosted on June 7 by Veterans Helping Veterans USA at the Marion County Veterans Resource Center at 2730 E. Silver Springs Blvd. The event, which ran from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., was aimed at helping veterans find resources.

A number of veterans and civilians also were served at a FreeD.O.M. Clinic USA, Inc., event that took place held nearby.

At the Veteran Stand Down, the only such local event of its kind in the past five years, a steady stream of veterans were offered free haircuts and information about issues including disability benefits, legal help, homelessness prevention, employment and more from at least a dozen veteran focused agencies, institutions and nonprofits.

Todd Belknap, executive director of VHV/USA of Marion County, explained that his nonprofit hosted the event this year after a change in plans by another organization and a reschedule from March to June.

“It’s mind boggling how many veterans are unaware of the many benefits and outreaches that are out there to help them. These same veterans wrote a blank check to the nation when they served and now it’s time we pay them back,” Belknap said.

“Our main goal is to raise awareness of Veterans Helping Veterans USA so we can place as many resources into as many veterans’ hands as possible while also providing them with financial assistance, a food pantry and so much more,” he said.

Veterans Daniel Espinosa, U.S. Army; Steve Cox, U.S. Marine Corps; and Kenzie Cea, U.S. Air Force; were part of a team from the Veteran Success Center of the College of Central Florida who provided information about programs at CF, along with Fernando Velez from the college’s Assessment Specialist Testing.

“It can be a bit off-putting,” Espinosa said about recently separated veterans trying to navigate information about benefits and programs after leaving a “formatted” lifestyle in the military.

“CF’s Veterans Success Center aids in receiving education benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. We provide assistance to military service members, veterans and eligible dependents enrolled at the College of Central Florida,” according to cf.edu

CF can also help eligible students who are receiving veterans benefits to navigate federal financial benefits, according to the website.

James Burgos, a community service specialist with Volunteers of America Florida in Ocala, which is part of a 128-year-old national organization, manned a table with information on the faith-based nonprofit, which provides affordable housing and supportive services to homeless veterans, families with children and individuals coping with mental illness and disabilities, as well as vulnerable seniors,” according to voaflorida.org

The outreach offers programs such as Supportive Services for Veteran Families, which promotes housing stability for income qualified veterans and the Ocala Grant Per Diem program, which provides clinical treatment, transitional housing and case management to homeless veterans. The website features the Ocala GPD program in the Ocala Ritz Veterans Village in the historic hotel on Silver Springs Boulevard, which offers 50 one-bedroom units.

Veterans Treatment Court, an outreach of 12 entities, including law enforcement and legal agencies, veterans’ organizations and a mental health organization, and Veterans Helping Veterans USA, has a motto of “leave no veteran behind,” according to program literature.

Rev. Bruce Gonseth, a veteran mentor with VTC, said the program can help veterans facing misdemeanors and certain felony cases redirect their cases to the special court, where they will be assigned a mentor. He said there’s an understanding that many of the veterans could be suffering the effects of PTSD and programs are offered to help with substance abuse issues. Gonseth said about 87% of participants complete the program and about 90% of program graduates do not commit repeat crimes.

David Bice, a Navy veteran and veteran mentor with VTC, spoke about case management and follow-up by mentors and talked about one veteran who met the program requirements and the charge was removed.

“That veteran got a fresh start,” Bice said, which was a benefit to the veteran’s family.

The Ocala Vet Center readjustment counseling program offers “community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including professional counseling to eligible veterans, service members including the National Guard and Reserve components and their families. Counseling is offered to make a successful transition from military to civilian life or after a traumatic event experienced in the military to include military sexual trauma, the website states.

The Florida Department of Veterans Affairs table was manned by Jeffrey Seckinger. FDVA programs include a Career Service, Benefits Guide and Services, public records requests and information about benefits for female veterans.

Steve Sarkozy and Bruce Caroll explained the veterans program at Empath Health Hospice of Marion County.

Ocala Blue Star Mothers is a branch of a national organization with about 6,000 member “mothers, stepmothers, grandmothers, foster mothers and female legal guardians who have children serving in the military, guard or reserves, or children who are veterans,” according to bluestarmothers.org

Steaphanie Dwyer, an outreach peer navigator with Zero Hour Life Center in Ocala, was at the stand down as part of her work with homeless veterans. She said her recovery organization focuses on people in the community suffering homelessness and substance abuse.

Marion County Veterans Services and the Marion County Veterans Council were represented at the Stand Down and Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano, City Councilman Jim Hilty and former congressman Cliff Sterns were on hand.

Melissa Wilform, a program assistant for the Suicide Prevention Mental Health Service Line of the Department of Veterans Affairs, North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health Systems, provided information on the 988 press 1 phone line and follow-up for at-risk veterans.

Patti Valenti, an outreach and referral specialist with the city of Ocala, represented the city/Marion County combined Joint Office on Homelessness Prevention, while Henry Ayala, a retired Army veteran and CareerSource Citrus Levy Marion local veteran employment representative, provided information about his agency.

Ayala said he can help veterans with a disability and benefits to find proper part-time employment, for example.

The Disabled American Veterans Chapter 85 (South Marion) was represented by Jan Lawrence. Michelle Langdon, a Navy and Air Force veteran, and current commander of American Legion Ocala Memorial Post 27, had a group of about 10 volunteers working at the event. VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) 4209 McCullough-Mixson Post also was represented.

Marion County Animal Services had a booth offering veterans collars for their dogs and help for homeless veterans and their pets.

Maxine Green with VHV gave veterans haircuts throughout the Veteran Stand Down, including one to Michael Hughes, whose military service was the 1970s.

“This means a lot,” Hughes said.

Concurrent event
Just down the road from the stand down, FreeD.O.M. Clinic USA, a mobile, faith-based dental, optical and medical clinic outreach of the Marion County Health District, served a number of pre-qualified and preregistered veterans and civilians at the Kingdom Revival Church at 3318 E. Silver Springs Blvd.

The outreach serves uninsured and underinsured people in the county and can provide free dental exams; X-rays; fillings, extractions and dental health education; free reading and prescription glasses; refractions and glaucoma, diabetic and cataract screenings; physical and school exams; hypertension and diabetes counseling; skin exams; wound care; infectious disease screenings, including HIV; and non-narcotic medications and more; the website indicates.

John Doperalski, director of logistics for FreeD.O.M. Clinic USA, said about 200 people turned out for the clinic. He said roughly 150 had dental exams and another 50 had procedures such as fillings and extractions.

Doperalski described the process as being three steps: an educational session for the patient, registration and medical testing including blood pressure. Doperalski indicated the organization recently added carotid artery ultrasound to its list of services and said a medical doctor is typically on hand at clinics.

The event saw dental professionals, such as local dental hygienist Stefanie Gaspard, and a number of third- and fourth-year University of Florida College of Dentistry students work on patients in about a dozen dental chairs.