Homeless Connect Project seeks volunteers for Valley effort

MAT-SU — Volunteers are needed to help organize the fourth annual Mat-Su Project Homeless Connect.

The annual community effort to bring needed services together under one roof is still a couple of months away, but organizers from the Mat-Su Borough School District’s Family’s in Tradition program, United Way of Mat-Su, Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, and Family Promise Mat-Su will begin meeting this week and are soliciting ideas from the community to improve this year’s event, said Family Promise director Laurie Kari.

She said the event is part of a broad effort on the last Wednesday in January to complete a count of the homeless population in various communities statewide. Kari said people who come to the January event in Wasilla will be asked to complete intake forms that include questions — like where did you sleep; do you have a disability; are you a member of a Native corporation — that help collect information about the number of homeless people in the Valley as well as their needs and resources.

Last year, 208 people completed the intake process, she said.

Gini King-Taylor is a board member for Family Promise and also is volunteering for Homeless Connect. She said serving the community is the focus, but the state also uses the count to apportion financial resources by region.

“The more people we get, the better,” King-Taylor said. “Plus, it helps people with their lives.”

Kari said the number of people served at the event has ranged from 100 to 200 since it began in 2011. About 200 people were served last year, though not all of them were homeless, she said.

It’s good news that fewer people are expected to participate in this year’s event. Kari said efforts in helping people solve the problems might have led to homelessness before.

“I’m seeing proof that this grant program is cutting down the numbers of homeless people,” she said.

Kari said she’s seeing a decline in the number of people contacting Family Promise for housing help.

“I attribute that to the homeless assistance,” she said.

People can help by contributing cash or services, or by volunteering, Kari said.

She said United Way is organizing the volunteers and people should call there for more information. Volunteers are needed to help plan the event and to work from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the event.

A planning meeting is at 10 a.m., Dec. 3 in Conference Room 220, next to the Mat-Su Health Foundation, in the Mat-Su Regional Outpatient Building at 950 Bogard Road, Wasilla.

King-Taylor said anyone interested in offering services, such as medical checkups, dental care, eye exams, haircuts, mending clothing, etc. should also plan to attend. She said organizers are hoping to expand the services offered by reaching out to the community and inviting everyone to be part of the planning process.

Mat-Su Project Homeless Connect is from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Jan. 29 at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center in Wasilla.

For more information, contact Mat-Su Coalition on Housing and Homelessness at matsuhousing@gmail.com, or 232-4450.

Contact Heather A. Resz at 352-2268 or heather.resz@frontiersman.com.