The wintertime streets of Eugene are usually cold and wet, conditions that can be harsh for people who find shelter in those same dreary streets. The homeless need sleeping bags, food, medical attention, jobs and clothing to improve their situation, and that’s exactly what they received Thursday at the 2nd annual Project Homeless Connect at the Lane County Fairgrounds.
“It really elevates the issue of homelessness, and brings vulnerable people together with those who can help them. It personalizes the problem,” Eugene City Councilor and volunteer Bonny Bettman said.
The Exhibition Hall at the fairgrounds was a constant shuffle of homeless and less-fortunate people moving between the throngs of tables that offered the help of more than 100 different service agencies. Homeless people met with interviewers who matched various services with their needs. Volunteers dressed in shirts with people holding hands then ushered them to a table that offered help through a needed service.
By the end of the all-day event, 1,165 total people had registered and been offered help by the more than 800 volunteers who attended.
“I get paid crap wages, but I get to work with wonderful people, so I’m rich,” said volunteer Jan Holand. “I take honor in working with the people I do. Sometimes you just know when you’re in the place you’re supposed to be.”
Volunteers pulled and cleaned teeth in one wing, while installing bells and lights on bicycles in another. Workers offered jobs, gave haircuts, served free hamburgers and gave away clothes throughout the day.
Howard Briley, an older man with a long white goatee and coffee-stained shirt who lives in shelters and “couch surfs,” waited in the medical center to have a volunteer look at his injured heels.
“I think the volunteers are just great. This event really helps the homeless people,” Briley said.
The “Wags and Wheels” events were located over in the Wheeler Pavilion, where bikes and pets were the focus.
Eugene Public Works employee Cindy J. Clarke was one of many volunteers who were fixing bikes, handing out free helmets and installing lights and bells on bikes.
“For many disadvantaged people, a bike is their sole purpose of transportation,” Clarke said.
A homeless man, Tim Sargent, waited in line to receive one of the 25 bikes that were given away, and he echoed Clarke’s sentiment.
“I have to sleep 3 1/2 miles from my employment where I have to get to by 5:30 in the morning. By the time I tear down my tent, roll up my sleeping bag and head to work I’ve already put in a half a day’s work. If I have a bicycle it would make it easier,” Sargent said.
On the other side of the room, a number of tables offered free food, leashes, water bowls, flea treatment and nail clippings for dogs and cats.
Animal care services leader Diana Huntington said they offered $2,100 worth of spay and neuter vouchers for pets, and ran out of the vouchers before noon. There are about 54,000 dogs and cats owned by people that live below the poverty line in Lane County, and 40,000 strays and ferals in the county as well, Huntington said.
“This is just an overwhelming situation. I am so humbled by all the people in the community coming to help out,” Huntington said.
Back in the main hall of the fairgrounds, Lane Community College food service students fed the nearly 2,000 people in the building, dishing up 1,500 hamburger patties, 400 veggie-burger patties, 32 cases of potato salad and 140 gallons of coffee.
One of the most frequented sections of the event was a family area that handed out supplies for families. Rows of children’s clothing hung on racks. Pink jackets, blue sweaters and a yellow long-sleeved shirt with blue dinosaurs on it were all given away to needy kids.
Lisa Schellman, a volunteer in the family section, said the most popular items were toys, diapers and clothes, but said the one item they really needed but did not receive was strollers.
“Think about a mom with a baby and homeless on the streets. She needs a stroller for the baby,” Schellman said.
The event was primarily geared toward the area’s homeless population, but volunteers said they also gained something.
“For me it just makes me feel good to help,” said city councilor and volunteer Andrea Ortiz. “That’s the main reason I’m here.”
Jessica Daniels, a University student and Family and Human Services major, has spent the last five weeks working as an intern for United Way, including preparations for Project Homeless Connect.
“I think this has given me a lot of experience as (a Family and Human Services) major in seeing what’s behind the scenes,” Daniels said. “I mean, you can learn in the classroom, but being here you learn something that can’t be taught in the classroom.”
While the event was a huge success by many people’s accounts, once the event was over and people started filing out the front doors, the streets were still cold, and they were still wet.
“This is a tremendous help, it really is. But the reality is there’s other things that need to be changed,” said a homeless man who goes by the name Hippie. He offered a less optimistic view of the day’s events: “There’s some organizations that want to look good and put their arm around you when the cameras are on. Then once the cameras are turned off, they kick you out the back door. We like it here though- I mean old people go to Florida to retire, while us hippies and homeless come to Eugene to retire.”
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