Good News Tucson - A Family Values Publication

Tucson Homesless Connect: In Step With The Nation

by Don Blascak

On July 18, 2008, Tucson will become the 171st American city to conduct Project Homeless Connect.

The Tucson Homeless Connect event, the first of its kind to be held in Tucson and Pima County, stems from a project that began several years back in the city of San Francisco. It started as an attempt to find workable solutions to homelessness, and caught on across the nation, bringing together corporate, non-profit, faith-based and community-based providers in a unique alliance that seeks to attack the factors that contribute to homelessness.

Tucson’s event will held at Trinity Presbyterian Church from 10 am to 3 pm. With other cities, Tucson/Pima County is involved in an ongoing ten-year-plan to end homelessness. The planning team, composed of members from the Tucson Planning Counsel for the Homeless (TPCH), are collaborating and partnering in a variety of ways to bring grants and volunteers to change the homeless condition at the grass roots level.

The TPCH planning team is composed of city, county and federal members. Project Homeless Connect is also endorsed nationally by HUD. The planning team is actively working with related efforts to bring more substantive one-stop services to Tucson’s homeless. At present, these efforts are Stand Down for Homeless Veterans sponsored by Tucson Veterans Serving Veterans (TVSV). Unique in this equation is Tucson’s annual Hope Fest (formerly Festival of Hope) which is held in October and usually attracts 7,000-8,000 people.

Plans are to complement the Hope Fest and Stand Down with three quarterly Homeless Connect events. This unique combination will, by 2009, provide seven events through the year, dedicated to the fight against poverty and homelessness.

Project Homeless Connect, Hope Fest and Stand Down for Homeless Veterans offer great volunteering opportunities for individuals, congregations and corporations. Visit TPCH’s website at www.tpch.org for more information.