Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Volunteers can perform any of the following tasks:

• Intake (one-on-one interviews with homeless veterans, completing a simple intake form)
• Shepherd  (assist veterans as they navigate the many services available)
• Distribution (hand out pre-assembled donations of food bags, clothing and backpacks)
• Showers/Clothing (maintain the shower area and assist with selection of underwear and clothing)
• Set-up/Take down (arrange/remove tables, chairs, signs)
• Crowd control (direct veterans and volunteers to registration; answer basic event questions)

Registration: The deadline for volunteer registration is Friday, January 29. Click here to fill out an online form.

All volunteers must attend training on Tuesday, February 9, at either 12pm-1pm or 6:30pm-7:30pm at Discovery Church (4400 S. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32806). Volunteers will receive their task assignments during check-in on the day of the event, Friday, February 12.

If you have questions. call HSN at 407-893-0133 or email us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org

• 852 meals
• 592 individuals received grocery bags of nonperishable food and clothing
• 96 families received food stamps
• 262 individuals received birth certificate and/or IDs
• 121 persons received medical care
• 112 adults completed Workforce Central Florida job referrals and 30 adults were interviewed by employers for available jobs!
• 25 clients completed HIV testing and counseling
• 95 clients took hot showers and 42 clients got hair cuts from Paul Mitchell staff
• 168 clients received shelter referrals and 15 clients were moved into housing as of Monday, December 7, 2009.

Homeless Services Network would like thank all of the volunteers and service providers without whom this event would not be possible! You should all be proud of the impact you are making on the lives of homeless men, women and children in our community!

Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Volunteers can perform any of the following tasks:

• Intake (one-on-one interviews with homeless veterans, completing a simple intake form)
• Shepherd  (assist veterans as they navigate the many services available)
• Distribution (hand out pre-assembled donations of food bags, clothing and backpacks)
• Showers/Clothing (maintain the shower area and assist with selection of underwear and clothing)
• Set-up/Take down (arrange/remove tables, chairs, signs)
• Crowd control (direct veterans and volunteers to registration; answer basic event questions)

Registration: The deadline for volunteer registration is Tuesday, November 28, 2009. You have many registration options available to you:

1. Click here to fill out an online form.
2. Download a registration form, edit it in a word processor, and email it back to us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org.
3. Download a registration form, print it, fill it out, and fax it back to us at 407-893-5299.
4. Call our volunteer coordinator for this event, Allison Estes at 407-893-0133 x107.

All volunteers must attend training on Tuesday, December 1, 2009, at either 12pm-1pm or 6:30pm-7:30pm at the Downtown Orlando Recreation Center (649 W. Livingston Street, Orlando, FL 32801). Volunteers will receive their task assignments during check-in on the day of the event, Friday, December 4, 2009.

If you have questions. call HSN at 407-893-0133 or email us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org.

Volunteers are needed to make this event a success. Volunteers can perform any of the following tasks:

• Intake (one-on-one interviews with homeless veterans, completing a simple intake form)
• Shepherd  (assist veterans as they navigate the many services available)
• Distribution (hand out pre-assembled donations of food bags, clothing and backpacks)
• Showers/Clothing (maintain the shower area and assist with selection of underwear and clothing)
• Set-up/Take down (arrange/remove tables, chairs, signs)
• Crowd control (direct veterans and volunteers to registration; answer basic event questions)

Registration: The deadline for volunteer registration is Tuesday, November 3, 2009. You have many registration options available to you:

1. Click here to fill out an online form.
2. Go to the Volunteer Match web site and search for the keywords: homeless Osceola.
3. Download a registration form, edit it in a word processor, and email it back to us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org.
4. Download a registration form, print it, fill it out, and fax it back to us at 407-893-5299.
5. Call our volunteer coordinator for this event, Allison Estes at 407-893-0133 x107.

All volunteers must attend training on Tuesday, November 3, 2009, at either 12pm-1pm or 6:30pm-7:30pm at the Osceola County Human Services Department (330 Beaumont Avenue, Kissimmee, FL). Volunteers will receive their task assignments during check-in on the day of the event, Friday, November 6, 2009.

If you have questions. call HSN at 407-893-0133 or email us at volunteer {at} hsncfl(.)org.

There is a training session tonight at 7pm in the building called ‘The Rink’ at Northland.

We still need volunteers, please come out to the training tonight or show up on Friday.

Please note that volunteers should check-in the Main Building on Friday before coming over to the ‘Rink’ for the event.

We hope to have the remaining 2009 dates scheduled in the next few weeks and I will send another email out when I have those dates. We currently have a Family Connect event scheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2009 at Lyman High School. Here is a link to find out more about this opportunity: http://www.volunteermatch.org/search/opp456511.jsp

Thank you in advance for serving our neighbors in need.

-Christine Fontaine

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:

• Hair cuts by Paul Mitchell;
• Folks receiving IDs on DMV mobile van;
• Medical services provided by mobile medical unit;
• Veterans receiving counseling at VA table.

Contact Information: Cathy Jackson, (407) 893-0133 x101, cell (407) 416-6713, cathy {at} hsncfl(.)org

Mr. Murphy remembers last year’s Project Homeless Connect  as the day that he found hope after more than 20 years of homelessness. He attended Project Homeless Connect (PHC) a one day event to provide shelter, services, and hospitality in a convenient one-stop model directly to men, women and families experiencing homelessness. The warm welcome of the volunteers and the lure of getting a driver’s license and help for his medical needs overcame his fear and anxiety. Today, Mr. Murphy is living in an apartment. He qualified for Social Security benefits, is working part-time and added twenty pounds to his formerly gaunt frame.

Annually in Orange, Osceola and Seminole Counties, there are more than 3,000 chronically homeless individuals and families living in camps, on the streets, in vehicles and in abandoned buildings. There are more than 40 homeless camps in East Orange County.  It is this segment of the population – the invisible homeless — that Project Homeless Connect serves by offering practical, compassionate services that encourage participants to re-engage with agencies that can help them back to shelter, self-sufficiency and a productive life.

On  Friday, July 18 from  8 a.m. – 2 p.m. more than 40 community agencies, churches and local government representatives will offer showers, meals, shelter, employment opportunities, mental health and substance abuse services, ID cards and driver’s licenses, birth certificates, access to Social Security for claims and replacement cards, job training programs, job interviews and legal services.  More than 150 volunteers will ensure the delivery of customized services to meet the needs of each participant.

Prior PHC events in Osceola, Seminole, East Orange and West Orange Counties and the City of Orlando have served more than 2500 homeless people  – just one of whom was Mr. Murphy. In 2008 HSN is partnering with local coordinating teams to implement three additional summer PHC events in Seminole County on July 30 at Northland, A Church Distributed, August 15 at Osceola Christian Ministry Center in Kissimmee, and September 5 at the Orange County Fairgrounds.

Sponsors: Homeless Services Network of Central Florida, Spirit of Joy Church, Orange County Government

When: Friday, July 18, 2008, 8:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.

Where: Spirit of Joy Church, 1801 Rouse Road at the intersection Colonial Drive and Rouse Road

Schedule:

• 7:00 – 8:30 a.m. 150 volunteers, 45 service providers arrive and 200+ homeless individuals line up for services.
• 8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast meal service
• 11:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch meal service
• 2:00 – event closes.

Potential filming options:

• Interviews with homeless clients being provided services
• DMV/Social Security/Orange County Vital Statistics helping homeless persons obtain a driver’s license or ID.
• Mobile Medical Van providing health care services for homeless patients
• Workforce Central Florida helping homeless people register online to search for jobs
• Shelter workers interviewing homeless people to find them shelter
• Haircuts for homeless people provided by Paul Mitchell Salons

Contact:
Catherine Jackson, Executive Director, Homeless Services Network of Central Florida
(407) 416-6713 (cell and onsite)
cathy {at} hsncfl(.)org