Special Events

Homeless Veterans Stand Down, Sept. 11 at 2 p.m.

Project Homeless Connect

Every year in January the Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition along with the City of Waco sponsors the annual Point in Time count for our Continuum of Care Grant in conjunction with the Project Homeless Connect. 

We actually plan each year months in advance to make sure the event is a success.  On the years in which we much conduct the Point and Time Count, night preceding our annual PHC day we hire previously homeless as well as homeless individuals along to travel with volunteers in vans to do direct outreach on the streets, parks and gathering places of the homeless.  During the interviews we asked where the person slept on the preceding night. We have found that by scheduling the count to correspond with PHC event, we have better results.

Our process is to first outline the service points and physical locations where homeless are known to frequent.  Then we stage volunteers at these points during key homeless traffic times, or the agency providing the service is asked to use their employees to survey the homeless persons.  As I stated earlier we work with 2-3 different homeless person’s familiar with the area’s homeless to help us identify the service points and public places where the homeless “hang out.”  These homeless persons will also be asked to accompany volunteers who will canvas the streets in vans looking for homeless persons on the preceding night and through the early morning hours of the Project Homeless Connect Day (PHC). 

Last year (2007) was the first year that we provided compensation to the homeless persons aiding our volunteers for their time during this count.  All previous counts were conducted by volunteers only-volunteers include coalition members, college students and faculty, homeless and formerly homeless persons, and interested citizens.  We mobilize 1-2 vans that are marked with magnetic “Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition” signs.  Vans are staffed with a driver, 1-2 volunteers, and 1 homeless or formerly homeless person familiar with the area’s homeless population.  Homeless persons we encounter will receive a zip lock bag containing miscellaneous hygiene items, a pair of socks, a flyer advertising the Project Homeless Connect event, and a laminated pocket information card listing key services (agency, address, phone, hours, etc.)  available in the community.  Once all the surveys are completed, the information is entered into a database by a volunteer (staff member from McLennan Community College) who the projects our results using a “valid statistical methodology” as allowed per the HUD counting manual.  Last year we interviewed 356 persons, and we projected our total homeless to 460 persons.

We update our training each year as we learn from the experiences from our Project Homeless Connect Day/Point and Time Count.  We usually conduct 2 or more training session’s different days/times to accommodate volunteers’ schedules.  Therefore there will be 1 or more sessions during normal business hours and 1 or more sessions after normal business hours.  Like our volunteer training our interview form is also a work in process and we are constantly looking at ways of streamlining the information as well as making it faster and easier for those we are interviewing.

Project Homeless Connect Day 2008

Where can a person experiencing the daily suffering of homelessness in Waco find a job, relief from hunger, dental care, and a bag of free clothing? Only at Waco’s Project Homeless Connect!

This annual event is held the last week of January and combines the Continuum of Care services and Stand Down event with Project Homeless Connect Day.  This year’s event featured the normal services of a Homeless Connect day including agency information, clothing, and a free lunch; however, there were some very innovative provisions as well.

Innovations

Some unexpected services included the donation of wireless service for the day from Grandecom. The wireless network was available throughout the entire First Lutheran Church, the event venue. This allowed the Heart of Texas Workforce to connect people with possible employment immediately. It also allowed for approval for food stamps, veteran’s benefits, and social security sign-up to be done right there on the spot. But those were not the only things happening that day.

Volunteers and Services

For the second year in a row, First Lutheran Church of Waco opened its doors to house this event. Ninety-seven volunteers helped out by showing people around, working at agency booths, providing screenings, and making sure the event ran smoothly. These volunteers included City staff members, McLennan Community College Mental Health students, Baylor School of Social Work students, agency staff, and members of local churches.

Donations came in many forms including: 25 boxes of suits and dress shirts from Men’s Warehouse to be given to those seeking employment; hamburgers and side items prepared by a local church; health screenings, foot care, and afternoon medical treatments by Family Health Services including van transportation and accompaniment by various local agencies; dental screenings followed by van transportation for much needed procedures such as dentures, tooth extractions, and periodontal sealants provided during afternoon appointments at a local dental office; not to mention various clothing, food supplies, and monetary donations for the event by various local agencies and community members.

Thanks to all the help from the community, agencies, and businesses in the area this year’s Project Homeless Connect was able to serve 99 individuals in need of services.  Some more of those services included free haircuts, information about substance abuse programs, housing, children’s agencies, youth services, domestic violence assistance, and of course Veteran’s Affairs.

Medical and Dental Services

Data Breakdown

The Wrap-up

With the help of agencies, health care providers conducting screenings, doing HIV testing, glucose tests, and blood pressure measurements, dentists offering care, and Veteran’s Affairs providing information and a room full of clothing, bags, and other personal items to veteran’s only, several needs were met that day. One man was even hired at the event by a local employer. This year’s Project Homeless Connect day could be called nothing less than a huge success.

Project Homeless Connect Day 2007

As for our Project Homeless Connect Day this past year we were also pretty stoked to find out when we were reading about the San Francisco PHC day that out of 1,949 folks who came through they only did 36 HIV test.  We had 83 and of those 18 tested for HIV/Aids testing and 28 blood pressure and 25 glucose/cholesterol test.  Not bad for little Waco.  One of the things we do is give bigger incentives for going through the wellness check center as well as make sure we can give them a referral for abnormal readings where they can follow up and that really helps. 

As for lessons learned…every year after the event the committee sets down after the event and has a late lunch together.  During this “best practice” time, I usually have a big chart pad and we debrief and discuss what worked, what didn’t work, ideas for next year etc.  We also use this time to sign thank you notes to the agencies, work on evaluations to be sent out to get feedback from venders etc.   When we get ready to begin planning for the next year I pull out those charts, we hang them up and begin with the changes and ideas that were highlighted while things were fresh in our minds.  As a result some innovated ideas have come from that.

We try to have one on one if at all possible going through the event with the homeless.  This gives us an opportunity to build a relationship while helping them to carry the items they have been given.  We try to make sure that there are chairs so no one has to stand in line.  Volunteers go through training so that they know how the process works.  The same homeless individuals who work during the outreach process also serve on the committees for this event as well.  This Outreach aids us with our annual count for our continuum of care as well as lets us get the word out about the event.  Below I have listed an overview of our program.

AGENCY VISITS/OUTREACH:

Per the participants' agency visit cards the following agencies provided information/outreach to the following numbers of attendees.  Note that the participants could have visited other agencies not listed on the agency visit cards because the participant was required to get only 5 agency signatures.  Thus many got the 5 agency signatures only, even though they actually visited more than 5 agency tables.  Also, the Mastercuts representative provided numerous haircuts during the event.

DONORS/VOLUNTEERS:

Donors included First Lutheran Church donated the use of their facility for this event.  The ACTS Christian Fellowship provided grilled hamburgers with all the trimmings.  Other donors provided items including personal hygiene items, hats, gloves, coats, gift cards from local restaurants, etc.  Donors included Caritas (clothing, hygiene items, socks, etc.), Providence (hygiene items, hats, and gloves), Hilton Hotels (hygiene items), Family Practice (hygiene items), Baylor students (gift card drive), and City of Waco (socks and coat drive).   PHC Committee members may add other donors each year.

60 volunteers hosted the event including persons from the agencies noted above that provided information about their programs/services and volunteers from the Heart of Texas Homeless Coalition, City of Waco, and Baylor University.