Veterans for Peace Santa Barbara
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San Pedro Protest, community service and VA opportunity

I joined peace activists in the San Pedro area for a protest friday at 1st and Gaffey.  There were many dozens of young people getting community service credit for protesting.  They were having a good time and I could see that it was a good thing to get them away from the video games and tv to engage with the public.  I hope other chapters are able to use community service in this way.

Being in the great harbor, albeit at the entrance near the breakwater is sometimes surreal.  Huge cranes are always in the background,  looming ships the size of mountains make their way with deep horns in the passageway next to Cabrillo Marina.  Some days the air smells strange,  probably why San Pedro is not a wealthy haven like Santa Barbara.  The nearby Wilmington oil works and the port itself brings a lot of dangerous stuff nearby.

My efforts at understanding what goes on at the VAMC WLA led to many discussions on that 388 acre campus.   VAMC WLA uses sharing partners to house homeless veterans and promote recovery and integration.  One revealing project is Strawberry Flag

Strawberry Flag is a joint effort of at least three non profits and the Annenberg Foundation.  Check it out and consider the possibility of VFP, DAV, VFW, MFSO and GSFP joining up as a shared partner on a large building at VAMC WLA that is awaiting a shared partner to become housing for homeless veterans.  Shared partners develop VAMC WLA property to assist vets to heal from war. 
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