Needed: Volunteers for Project Homeless Connect

Kaitlyn Luebbert, left, shaves Cleveland Robinson Tuesday while fellow students from Merrell University cut and style hair for local homeless or about to be homeless individuals. Several downtown Jefferson City churches joined forces and with the help of more than 200 volunteers helped to get numerous area homeless, or those in imminent risk of becoming homeless, resources and services needed to leave that situation.
Kaitlyn Luebbert, left, shaves Cleveland Robinson Tuesday while fellow students from Merrell University cut and style hair for local homeless or about to be homeless individuals. Several downtown Jefferson City churches joined forces and with the help of more than 200 volunteers helped to get numerous area homeless, or those in imminent risk of becoming homeless, resources and services needed to leave that situation.

Three local churches are looking for volunteers to help put on the second annual Project Homeless Connect program - a one-day event offering services to people without shelter or at risk of becoming homeless in Cole County.

Registration for the event begins at 10 a.m. Monday in Jefferson City at First United Methodist Church, 201 Monroe St. A collaborative effort from state agencies, local churches and social service providers will provide individuals across the county services like shelter/housing counseling, food and clothing donations, identification, medical checkups, mental health screenings, career counseling and more.

Sarah Nichols, one of the committee co-chairs, describes this event as a single access point for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

"Our goal is to provide as many services as possible to those in our community who are experiencing homelessness and those who are at immediate risk of experiencing homelessness," Nichols said. "We are excited to offer this event to our community for a second year."

Nichols said the program is based on a national service model listed among best practices for communities looking to address homelessness.

Contributions can be dropped off at any of the host churches - First United Methodist Church, First Baptist Church and First Christian Church.

Setup for volunteers will be 1-4 p.m. Sunday. The event will run10 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday with clean up at 3 p.m.

To become a volunteer, contact Rhonda Mullen-Rhoads at 573-578-2147 or email [email protected].