05 Aug 08 News Release – Seminole PHC

Seminole County Project Homeless Connect Expected to Serve More than 200 Homeless On Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Mayors of 5 Seminole County Cities and Pastor Joel Hunter to appear at 8:00 a.m. Opening Ceremonies

Monday, July 28, 2008 – ORLANDO – On Wednesday, July 30, 2008 the Homeless Services Network (HSN), Northland Church and more than 40 nonprofits, faith-based groups and local businesses are hosting a one day event to provide housing, services, and hospitality in a convenient one-stop model directly to men, women and families experiencing homelessness in Seminole County. The event should attract more than 200 homeless persons living in camps, on the streets, in vehicles and in abandoned buildings in Sanford, Longwood, Casselberry and surrounding cities.

Northland Pastor Joel Hunter and HSN Executive Director Cathy Jackson will be joined by the Mayors of Altamonte Springs, Casselberry, Lake Mary, Oviedo, and Sanford to open the event at 8:00 a.m.

Services will include medical care, showers, meals, shelter, employment opportunities, mental health services and counseling. The Department of Motor Vehicles, Social Security Administration, Seminole County Vital Statistics and legal services will assist clients in applying for IDs, driver’s licenses, birth certificates and Social Security cards. Clients arrive at the event by public transportation, bicycle, car or by walking. Each participant will be given Lynx bus passes at the end of the event.

As a result of its January 2008 Point-in-Time Count, HSN estimates that more than 1,800 men, women and children experience homelessness in Seminole County annually. Thirty-five percent of the homeless population has been homeless more than one year, with an additional 32% reporting being homeless for three months to one year. In and around Sanford on one night in January 2008 HSN completed a count that identified more than 125 homeless men and women who were sleeping in abandoned buildings, in camps and on the street. There are more than 30 homeless camps in Seminole County. It is this segment of the population that Project Homeless Connect seeks to serve by offering practical, compassionate services that encourage participants to re-engage with agencies that can help them get off the streets and return to self-sufficiency and a productive life.

Media opportunities:

7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Interviews with clients (veterans, homeless women with children, employed men unable to find affordable shelter) and volunteers.
7:50 a.m. – 8:20 a.m. Interviews with Pastor Joel Hunter, City Mayors, Cathy Jackson
8:00 a.m. – Brief opening ceremonies
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. – lunch

Filming ops: