Newswise — San Francisco, CA October 5, 2011 – In 1932, the American psychologist Walter Pitkin published the self-help book Life Begins at Forty. On October 5th of this year Project Homeless Connect (PHC) celebrates its 40th event, and for many of the clients it’s a chance for their life to begin again.
“Our one-stop shopping model brings together such a wide array of services that it gives people experiencing homelessness the tools they need to help get their life back on track,” says Kara Zordel, Director of Project Homeless Connect. “This is the 40th event we have held, and each time we hear stories of how the services that we provide have had a profound impact on the lives of the people we serve. Sadly, the need for those services continues to grow as the economy continues to struggle.”
At its last event in the Bayview, PHC provided legal help for 50 people, California IDs for 90 people, eye exams and glasses for more than 300 people, and lunch for almost 1,000 people. The October 5th event is expected to attract twice that amount.
“Even though the unemployment rate is down in San Francisco,” says Zordel, “those new jobs are mostly for highly skilled individuals working in the tech sector. Right now many of those who are homeless, or on the brink of being homeless, don’t have the skills they need to get those kinds of job. With training and support that can change but until they get that help the recovery – slight as it is – is passing them by.”
PHC’s one-stop shopping model brings together a wide array of services at one location. Those include medical exams and HIV testing, mental health and substance abuse, employment, groceries, banking services, phone calls, voicemail accounts, veterinary services, dental, domestic violence services, Homeward Bound and the Healthy SF programs
As always PHC relies on volunteers to help deliver many of the services and care for the clients. The sponsor of this event, Blue Shield of California, is providing not just financial support but is also bringing along a team of volunteers to help with the work.
“Blue Shield has been proud to partner with Project Homeless Connect for nearly a decade,” said Paul Markovich, Executive Vice President and COO of Blue Shield of California. “It’s now more important than ever for all of us to pitch in and provide those in need with access to medical and social services. As a not-for-profit health plan headquartered in San Francisco, we’re committed to helping the people in our communities get back on their feet.”
Project Homeless Connect will be held on Wednesday, October 5th, from 10am to 3pm at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium at 99 Grove Street in San Francisco.
Since the program began, more than 22,000 volunteers have provided services to more than 33,000 homeless and poor San Franciscans through Project Homeless Connect. It is estimated that roughly 6,000-12,000 people are homeless on any given night in San Francisco.
For more information contact Kevin McCormack or go to www.projecthomelessconnect.com
About Project Homeless ConnectProject Homeless Connect makes a real difference in the lives of the City’s homeless by bringing together almost 250 non-profit agencies, private businesses and volunteers to assist San Franciscans in need. Since the program’s inception in October 2004 as a joint effort of San Francisco’s health care, housing and human service systems, Project Homeless Connect has been supported by tens of thousands of volunteers, individuals and companies giving their time, cash, clothing, food and essential services. To date, this program has provided services to thousands of the City’s most economically disadvantaged men, women and children with basic human needs and housing. Project Homeless Connect is a key component of Mayor Newsom’s 10-year plan to abolish homelessness in San Francisco. This unprecedented approach to helping the homeless has been adopted as a national model in more than 200 jurisdictions in the U.S and has also been implemented in Canada and Australia.
Background on Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California, an independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health plan with 3.3 million members, 4,800 employees, and one of the largest provider networks in California. Founded in 1939 and headquartered in San Francisco, Blue Shield of California offers a wide range of commercial and government products throughout the state. The company has contributed more than $125 million over the past four years to the Blue Shield of California Foundation --which was named one of BusinessWeek's top 20 most generous corporate foundations. Contact your local agent or broker for more information about Blue Shield products and services, or visit the Blue Shield web site at www.blueshieldca.com.
RSS