Volunteers will converge on San Diego's winter shelter for homeless adults Thursday morning with the ambitious goal of connecting each resident with the assistance he or she needs.
Many services will be provided: Help in obtaining identification cards, Social Security registration, medical assistance, mental health and substance abuse counseling, flu shots, job assistance and much more. And it will occur over an intense five-hour period, beginning at 10 a.m.
The effort is part of the National Project Homeless Connect Day, which seeks to engage the community in a quick, concentrated strike against homelessness.
Project Homeless Connect was founded in San Francisco in October 2004 at the urging of the city's mayor, Gavin Newsom. It is being duplicated in many cities including Denver; Chicago; Miami; Portland, Oregon; Atlanta; and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hannah Cohen, a consultant to the United Way of San Diego, organized the local effort over the past three months. She said additional Project Connect days will be held during the year.
A goal of the program is to "put a human face on homelessness," she said, adding that participants will have the opportunity to call family members for free on cell phones.
