Project Connect to aid homeless despite funding issues

With the fifth annual Project Connect just around the corner, organizers are calling for donors and volunteers to aid in an effort to stop homelessness.

The event, which will be held on Oct. 13, will provide food, medical, dental and mental health care services to county residents who are homeless or at risk for homelessness.

Many businesses, local governments, faith-based organizations and service providers will gather to serve attendees, allowing them to access services they otherwise couldn’t.

Jamie Rohe, homeless program coordinator for the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, said the UNC School of Dentistry will offer dental screenings and follow-ups for people at the event.

“We have fine-tuned a lot each year to make the services better and more useful,” she said. “We are very excited for the school’s involvement.”

In the past, the event was funded by the United Way, but this year, that funding was eliminated, Rohe said.

She said the organization has given around $2,000 in the past but dedicated its funding to other causes this year, pressuring the project to find funds elsewhere.

“This is the first year we haven’t received funding from them and we need to raise funds locally.”

Local organizations have collaborated to raise funds and make up for the lost funding, she said.

But she said a lack of volunteers and the struggling economy have also caused problems.

She said hard economic times have not only increased the number of unemployed and those at risk for homelessness, but has also led several local service providers to cut back on their budgets.

Chris Moran, executive director of the Inter-Faith Council for Social Service in Chapel Hill, said the event is an opportunity for people to become more aware and supportive of the homeless community.

“I run homeless facilities 365 days a year, and I’m about the closest to the homeless community as one can be,” he said. “That’s my real interest.”

Meg McGurk, who works with the Real Change from Spare Change program, said the event still needs at least 100 volunteers. She said the project offers a uniting, rewarding experience.

“We find out ways to get involved … to further the cause and foster the idea that we take care of each other,” she said.

Amy Crump, one of the event coordinators, said there are no real skills necessary to volunteer.

“Just the willingness to help is the most important,” she said.

Rohe encouraged people to sign up early to volunteer in positions ranging from photography to food service.

Contact the City Editor
at city@dailytarheel.com.