Just like everyone else, homeless people have needs for services such as haircuts and health care, but a lack of transportation makes it a challenge to get those services, said Melissa Allen, community programs director for the Community Action Program for Central Arkansas.
Project Homeless Connect in Conway will bring free services to them.
The nonprofit organization will sponsor the third-annual event from 4-7 p.m. Jan. 22 at St. Joseph’s Spiritan Hall, 1115 College Ave., in Conway.
“We have a rise in our homeless population and saw a need for this event to be able to pull together a lot of service providers in one place,” Allen said.
“We have a ton of service providers who are going to do an amazing job,” she said. “It’s one day, one stop, one community. They can come to one place to get services to help them gain housing stability.”
The first year, about 85 homeless people were served. Last year, at least 123 people identified as homeless came to the event.
“It was very successful,” Allen said.
She expects to serve even more homeless people this year — 200 participants ages 10 and older and 50 kids ages 9 and younger.
A children’s area featuring activities and snacks is back to make the event more family-friendly.
“The kids zone is one we set up every year. We have face-painting, and we color with them and get activities for them to do. We are working to get characters to come in for entertainment. Even the adults like to see the characters,” she said.
Cotton candy and beverages will be given out at the event.
“You want [the children] to feel love; you want them to have dignity,” Allen said. “These are extra things you can do to show them the community cares about them. We try to make it a really welcoming and loving environment.”
Project Homeless Connect, a national program that came to Arkansas in 2017, is held in conjunction with the Point in Time homeless count that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires.
Allen said the goal is to serve sheltered and unsheltered homeless people.
She said a lot of people don’t consider what sheltered homelessness is.
“The McKinney-Vento [Homeless Assistance] Act defines homelessness as the lack of a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence.”
Allen said that could be a student living in a hotel or sleeping on a relative’s couch following a house fire, for example.
Attendees will receive a catered, hot meal, sponsored by the church’s missions committee.
“The St. Joseph Catholic Church Missions Committee is very vital in making this event happen,” Allen said. “They helped with the location, setup and breakdown. They are a tremendous amount of support financially and just by the services they provide.”
In addition to providing hot meals, many free items will be distributed.
“We’ll provide everybody a pair of shoes; it’s first-come, first-served on the sizes,” Allen said. “We have over 200 pairs of adult shoes and 40 pairs of kids shoes.”
The first 200 participants ages 10 and older will receive a care kit and a resource bag.
“We have 166 winter-gear kits to hand out. Items in a bag may vary slightly, depending on donations,” she said. The winter-gear kits include gloves, socks and toboggans.
Also, The Salvation Army will give out hats, coats and gloves again this year, Allen said.
The care kits are chock-full of items helpful for someone who is homeless: a duffle bag, a bottle of water and an aluminum water bottle with a clip, a can opener, utensils, a whistle/compass/keychain/light, soap, a toothbrush, wipes, deodorant and more.
The resource bags include books, pens, notepads, stamped envelopes and two sheets of notebook paper, discount prescription cards and words of encouragement.
“The Lions Club and Walmart Vision Care will help repair eyeglasses and conduct vision screenings,” she said.
Lt. Patrishia Knott, The Salvation Army Conway Corps officer, said the ministry is happy to be involved in the “one-stop shop.”
“It is a great opportunity to see what other agencies are doing and how we can better work together to meet the real needs of our homeless,” Knott said.
Allen said popular services will be back this year, and additional services will be offered at the event.
“We have 11 individuals who will be coming in to provide hair-care services. We’re pretty excited to be able to provide that again this year. One of our hair-care providers is bringing someone in to do facials as well. That’s new,” Allen said.
Conway Regional Health System will provide health checks and wound-care information, Allen said. The CHI St. Vincent Interfaith Clinic will provide dental screenings and health checks.
“We try to raise money to pay for after-event services. If they need a tooth pulled or some type of dental care, … we can provide some services after the event. They make an appointment to go to the CHI St. Vincent Interfaith Clinic.”
Walgreens will provide immunizations again this year. Bledsoe Chiropractic and Owens Chiropractic will offer chair massages and “minimal chiropractic care,” she said.
Allen said the mobile ARCare unit will provide HIV testing, with results in 15 minutes, along with health checks and wound care.
Mental-health providers will be on hand to provide information, as well as the Women’s Shelter of Central Arkansas.
Bike repairs are a new service, provided by The Ride and Conway Advocates for Bicycling.
“We’re very excited about that. We’re going to give out bike locks, and CAB will give out front and back lights,” she said.
Another popular service offered is checkups for dogs. Companions Spay and Neuter Clinic in Greenbrier will provide some vaccinations for the pets. Homeless individuals with pets may come in a side door for safety, Allen said.
District Judge Susan Weaver and 20th Judicial District Circuit Judge Troy Braswell Jr. will hold compassion court, a popular service last year.
“Braswell has done it every year; Weaver is new this year.”
“They will actually hold court — participants can go in on traffic, civil matters. They have to go before the judge and agree to do community service and get their fines forgiven,” Allen said previously. “It eliminates the restrictions that maybe keeps them from getting a job or getting housing,” she said.
“Our [Arkansas Department of Human Services] mobile unit will be there again,” Allen said. If attendees have the proper paperwork and identification, “they can approve them on the spot” for food stamps and other services.
“Another new thing — someone will be there to help them sign up for free phones,” she said.
“Express Employment Professionals will be coming in. … We’ve asked that they have jobs available for [homeless individuals] to apply for. We want some action. The whole purpose of this event is for there to be services provided and jobs provided,” Allen said.
Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.