Chapel Hill’s Project Connect brings together community resources

Crystal Martinez-Ramos sat in the Hargraves Community Center Thursday afternoon, receiving her first haircut in nearly two years.
“It’s a new me,” she said. “I couldn’t ask for anything else.”

Martinez-Ramos, a Chapel Hill resident, attended the fifth annual Project Connect. The event brings together resources from across the county to serve people who are homeless, at-risk of homelessness or in need.

The event drew a crowd of more than 225 attendees and 50 service providers, a new record for the project, organizers said.

Available resources included mental health care services, eye exams and prescription glasses, legal aid and voter registration.

At the event, Martinez-Ramos, a stay-at-home mom on a fixed budget, received a haircut, registered for Medicaid, and had her glucose and cholesterol levels tested —all for free.

And after recently losing about 40 pounds, Martinez-Ramos said the haircut is a finishing touch on her transformation.
“A new look, a new me,” she said.

Meg McGurk, an organizer for the event and assistant director of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership, said the project is unique in its ability to bring together a range of services, allowing people to have many needs taken care of at once.

The UNC School of Dentistry clinic was one of the most popular services, providing screenings for cavities, gum disease and oral cancer to more than 90 people.

“A lot of people came for one thing and had no idea all these resources existed,” McGurk said.

Will Raymond, an organizer and fifth-year volunteer, said the event has lasting impacts on both volunteers and attendees.

“You will change somebody’s life who comes here,” he said.
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A rise in need *

After funding cuts to social services at the state and federal levels, many local providers are struggling to maintain service levels in the face of increasing demand, said Pam Hemminger, an Orange County Commissioner and first-time volunteer.

McGurk said the struggling economy could have caused the higher turnout this year.

“There have been local and state cutbacks,” she said. “But there are still a lot of services available.”

Candidates’ involvement

Candidates for Chapel Hill Town Council Lee Storrow and Jason Baker also took time out of their campaigns to volunteer.

Storrow, who said this was his first time volunteering at the event, helped set up Wednesday.

Although he said volunteering was valuable, he thinks providing services to the homeless should be an ongoing priority.
“Just because we have Project Connect doesn’t mean we don’t need (to pay) attention 365 days a year.”

Baker said he also was excited to volunteer with Project Connect after wanting to for years.

Baker said he grew up in a low-income home, so poverty is an issue he cares about — and Project Connect impressed him.

“What really surprised me was that they were actually providing services right on the spot,” he said.

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