Operation Stand Down Ads Outreach for Veterans

Organizers plan to set up at the Tennessee Career Center on Old Fort Parkway every Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon.

The Nashville-based non-profit has been gradually expanding its programs into Rutherford County and would eventually like to open a permanent office in the county. After 21 years in operation, it also is set to open a permanent office in Montgomery County in the next few months.

Dominick Grimaldi, an employment coordinator with Operation Stand Down Tennessee, said employment and housing counselors will be at the weekly sessions to try to assist some of the approximately 20,000 veterans who live in Rutherford County.

The organization provides job-training opportunities for honorably discharged veterans that can include placement assistance, resume building and computer training. They also give transitional housing assistance to former soldiers without permanent residences and provide professional and interview clothing from the group’s thrift store in Nashville.

Grimaldi, a U.S. Army veteran, said the largely veteran staff is driven to support the men and women who also served in the armed forces.

“At the end of the day, we would do anything for each other,” he said.

If certain services can’t be provided by the organization’s partners in Rutherford County, Grimaldi said veterans in need could be transported to Operation Stand Down’s main office in Nashville to have them addressed.

“Whatever needs we can’t fill here, we’ll find a way (to do so),” Grimaldi said.

The expansion of resources in the area can allow more veterans to get the physical and mental services they need without having to travel far, said Andy Judd, the president of the Rutherford County chapter of the U.S. Military Vets Motorcycle Club. The organization has worked with Operation Stand Down to raise awareness for the needs of former soldiers.

“They’ve seen things that no one in the world needs to see,” Judd said. “If we can get this opened up down here, it’ll be easier for people to get the services they need.”

Operation Stand Down Tennessee has already reached out to several partners in Rutherford County in recent months to provide resources and support to veterans in the community. Officials already serve on the Warrior Worker Initiative established by the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce.