The second annual Project Homeless Connect in Conway served 123 homeless individuals and went off without a hitch, the event’s organizer said.
“It was absolutely amazing; there wasn’t one problem that came with it,” said Melissa Allen, program coordinator for the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas, which sponsored the event.
“We had 158 service providers and volunteers — that was 35 businesses and organizations represented,” Allen said.
The idea was to pull together services in one location to serve the homeless population. Free services included haircuts, dental care, health screenings and more. The event took place in the St. Joseph Catholic Church Parish Hall.
“Conway Regional took a guy’s glucose reading, and it was at a critical level, so that was huge. We had him taken to the hospital,” she said.
Donations were set aside to help with minor follow-up care. Allen said 24 people have appointments with the CHI St. Vincent Interfaith Clinic in Conway.
Project Homeless Connect, a national program, was offered in 2017 for the first time in Arkansas.
It took place in conjunction with the Point in Time homeless count that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires. Last year, 85 homeless people were counted at the Project Homeless Connect event.
Judy Lively, executive director of Bethlehem House, a transitional homeless shelter in Conway, said she had not gotten the number of sheltered homeless for a final tally. However, she said she estimated the homeless count would be “a little, not drastically” more than the 181 counted last year.
“I think the [Project Homeless Connect] event was great; it had improved from last year, which I thought was really good,” she said.
This year, services were added, Allen said, including pet care.
“The new pet services were a huge hit,” she said. “There were so many people who brought their dogs and got services from Companions [Spay & Neuter Clinic],” she said. The clinic provided exams, vaccinations, flea-and-tick treatment, nail trims and more.
“It was the tiniest little puppy to this huge pit bull who had a head bigger than a basketball,” she said.
For safety, the animals weren’t allowed into the main room; they entered and exited through a separate entrance into a side room.
Allen said double the number of expected hairstylists showed up. She said the stylists stayed busy the whole time, and she praised them for giving the homeless attendees the attention as if they were at “a high-end salon.”
Another successful part of the event was Compassion Court, back for the second year. She said 10 people had cases heard by 20th Judicial District circuit judges David Reynolds and Troy Braswell. Some people were able to have fines dismissed for community service, she said.
“They say, ‘I have fines; I can’t afford to pay these,’ because they’re homeless. [The judges] help them find a way to take care of their matters in a way that’s not going to cause their fines to continue to get greater and greater.”
For attendees from other judicial districts, the judges provided guidance and wrote letters for them to take to judges in those areas.
In addition to free items, such as blankets, sleeping bags and hats, a hot meal was provided. Allen said leftover food was divided among Bethlehem House, The Salvation Army and the Conway Ministry Center.
“It was fabulous, and we appreciate St. Joseph coming and helping us set up. The mission committee is amazing,” she said. “We’re looking forward to next year.”
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.