This morning marked the start of Maricopa County’s 14th annual StandDown, a two-day event aimed at helping homeless and at-risk veterans get help with services like medical care, social security and housing.

I caught up with Rebecca Pringle yesterday at Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the state fairgrounds as workers were setting up for the event. She’s the Communications Director for the Arizona Coalition to End Homelessness, which is the coordinating group of the Arizona Veterans StandDown Alliance.

Pringle said last year’s event drew more than 1,700 veterans and organizers expect around 2,000 this year. She said the point is to give vets a hand up, rather than a hand out.

Maricopa County’s StandDown runs through tomorrow at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix.