More than 1,000 homeless people attended a special one-day event at the Lane County Fairgrounds Exhibit Hall Thursday for an event that allowed them free access to any necessary service, ranging from medical and dental care, haircuts, and pet care to legal assistance, parenting help and food.
A cafeteria served omelets, fruits, coffee and juices for breakfast and lunches of meat and vegetarian hamburgers, ham, beans and potato salad. Attendees received gifts of hygiene kits, blankets, socks, take-away food boxes and bicycles and bicycle carts.
Lane Transit District offered free transportation to and from the event, while some groups offered vouchers and referrals for follow-up care.
Each service was offered through Project Homeless Connect, a Thursday event that brought more than 150 sponsors, donors and companies and about 250 volunteers together from throughout Eugene, Springfield and Lane County.
The event is modeled on similar programs that are trying to engage communities on ending homelessness and to increase access services to homeless people.
About 1,007 homeless people attended the event by its end at 3 p.m., said Kate Barkley, a volunteer with the event. She said the first time event was a novel idea because it brought together a wide set of community groups and it allowed homeless people to access services that they might not normally be able to receive.
Barkley said the event was also trying to create a sense of welcome for homeless people and to show that they are deserving of dignity and respect.
“We’re hoping not only to provide the needed services to people, but to go one step further and to get the community to welcome the homeless as their neighbors,” Barkley said.
George Goodman said he attended the event to use the medical and dental services. He said he doesn’t have medical insurance and that he usually goes to the emergency room when he needs medical help.
“They should have more events like this,” Goodman said.
Volunteer Keavy Cook, who works in the University’s Community Service Center, said she has volunteered with Food for Lane County, canned food drives and walks for hunger before. She was impressed with the community-wide effort at the event.
“People here seem very appreciative and polite,” Cook said. “Overall, I think the response has been very good.”
Alfonso Stapler, a minister with Lane County Street Ministry, said he noticed how grateful many of the people who attended the event were. He said he was homeless for eight years and knows how difficult and degrading it is to have to live in a car or on the street.
An event like Project Homeless Connect helps homeless people connect to services and it shows that the community cares, he said.
“The neat thing is that the vast majority feel better about themselves,” Stapler said.
There are believed to be 16,221 homeless people in Oregon, ranking the state 12th in the number of homeless people in the United States and 6th in total percentage of state residents who are homeless, according to a 2007 report by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
Officials are still awaiting the results of a January street count of all homeless people in Lane County, which would include the number of people who are unable to access shelter on a regular basis.
The event’s atmosphere was positive and exceeded expectations, although immunizations ran out before the end, Barkley said. She said she would like it to become an annual event, but its success will be judged by how many homeless people were served and if there was a positive impact on homelessness.
“I think it would be safe to say we were overwhelmed by the turnout and the positive atmosphere,” Barkley said.
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Homeless receive help from community
Daily Emerald
February 8, 2007
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