| 2010-01-22 - York County Helps the Homeless; Needs Volunteers |
If you could make someone’s life a little better in just one day…would you? This is the question York County Project Connect officials are asking of the local community. Homeless people in
York
County will receive help, hope, and housing opportunities during the second annual York County Project Connect event and volunteers are needed.
This special one-day event is scheduled for 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 30th to provide a "one-stop shop" to connect the homeless and disadvantaged with important services in a supportive setting, at the
Emmett
Scott
Recreation
Center , located at 801 Crawford Road, Rock Hill. The event is organized by United Wayof
York County, SC.
Attendees will have access to immediate benefits and information on employment, housing, medical and dental services, educational opportunities, legal resources, clothing for job interviews, chiropractic care, personal grooming including haircuts, and many other much needed services.
“It was humbling to see people in the situations they were in,” Pansy Yates with
Piedmont
Medical
Center said. Yates and her co-workers were offering health screenings to attendees. “They shared their stories with us and it was gratifying to know we could help a little bit.”
Volunteers are needed, from persons who can provide personal grooming services to those who will donate a few hours to welcome their fellow citizens in need, assist them in completing forms and provide an encouraging smile. If you would like to attend an upcoming volunteer training session, there will be two held Tuesday, Jan. 26th at 8:30 am at the Salvation Army Corp office located at 119 S.Charlotte Ave. Rock Hilland at 6:30 pm at Westminster Presbyterian Church,
Main
Building , 2nd Floor Conference Room, 1300 India Hook Road, Rock Hill. To volunteer, contact Lora Holladay, Pathways to Housing Director, at (803) 324-2735.
Transportation will be provided from area emergency shelters. Those with immediate needs should call 211 for assistance.
“I equate this event as the community’s way to throw out the welcome mat to one of the most marginalized segments of our population,”
Holladay said. “The main goal of this day to meet immediate needs of our homeless and disadvantaged residents.” Holladay said one of last year’s volunteers were so touched by the homeless man he was partnered with, he was moved to donate the glasses off of his face to the man in need. “That’s just the kind of day this it is,”
Holladay said. “It’s a transformative day for not only those in need, but for the volunteers.”
Project Homeless Connect began in
San Francisco in 2004, and has grown to chapters in 150 cities and tens of thousands of volunteers who believe in helping their neighbors. The project began as a part of directed outreach from
York
County ’s long range plan to address homelessness, Pathways to Housing.
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