Have you tried putting a puzzle together and found yourself missing parts? It’s very frustrating isn’t it? In your heart of hearts you know if you could just find those missing pieces you would be able to finish that puzzle. This is the way our homeless community feels at times.
On Thursday, January 24, 2013 Cowlitz County’s first Project Homeless Connect tried to help those in need, find those long lost pieces to the resource puzzle. From 10am to 4pm at the site of the old Your Marketplace Grocery Store at 849 Commerce Avenue in Longview, Washington, people worked together, connecting our community members with needed services such as housing, identification assistance and mental health assistance. There were over 300 community members that attended this special event hosted by The Cowlitz County Coalition for the Homeless. Dawn Hanson, Coalition for the Homeless representative, said the results from this event were amazing.
While putting Project Homeless Connect together there were some challenges to finding a suitable place to hold such a large event. Frank Morrison, CEO of Community House on Broadway stepped up to the plate and offered financial support to rent the building at 849 Commerce Avenue. The making of several partnerships in the community assured that Project Homeless Connect would be a huge success! Free haircuts were offered all day long from Great Clips and Sunni Cuts. Free bike repair was offered by Highlander Cycling Imports. Free food was served and lots of hopeful connections were made. When a group of our homeless community were surveyed they deemed being able to take a shower as one of the most helpful things they could receive.
There were several booths set up representing organizations like Love Overwhelming, Goodwill Industries, Family Health Center, Community House on Broadway and Lower Columbia Mental Center. People left with a sense of hope in filling in those lost pieces of their personal homeless puzzle. There was even live music for everyone to enjoy.
Some of the financial costs for this event were handled by the document recording fees fund from the City of Longview. These funds wont be available next year so the Coalition for the Homeless will need to seek funds elsewhere. If you want to continue to help our homeless community find their missing pieces via next year’s Project Homeless Connect please reach Dawn Hanson at 360 577-3041 ext. 2586 or dhanson@cwcog.org.
