Volunteer Mike Torres chatted as he grilled chicken thighs and
flipped hamburger patties on a custom-made barbeque pit the size of
a baby whale, explaining it took a forklift to load the apparatus
onto the bed of his truck.
Volunteer Mike Torres chatted as he grilled chicken thighs and flipped hamburger patties on a custom-made barbeque pit the size of a baby whale, explaining it took a forklift to load the apparatus onto the bed of his truck.
“I had the barbecue made just for cooking for the homeless,” he said, flashing a big grin. “It beats cooking on a Hibachi.”
This sort of happy-to-help attitude was prevalent amongst a number volunteers and community members who turned out Monday when Project Homeless Connect spearheaded a gathering at First Baptist Church on 8455 Wren Ave.
Project Homeless Connect is based out of San Francisco, with a local chapter in San Jose assisting cities such as Gilroy to organize conventionlike gatherings of representatives from various service agencies.
More 100 people showed up to receive assistance and information from resources such as housing, continued education, employment, mental health, social security, youth services, sleeping bags, jackets and a free meal. Mobile units offering dental and medical treatment were also on hand, and Gavilan College cosmetology spent the afternoon snipping locks for a total of 25 complimentary haircuts.
The event ran from 1 to 4 p.m., and saw a steady flow of attendants who came to converse with booth operators, share a communal meal with their friends and take advantage of a the dozen valuable services gathered in one convenient location at the same time.
Andrew Hening, San Jose Project Homeless Connect coordinator, said he’s hoping to facilitate another event in March.
Some have loftier long-term aspirations.
Robert Dolci, Homeless Concerns coordinator for the Office of Housing & Homeless Support Services in San Jose – along with Gilroy Task Force members Jan Bernstein-Chargin and Gilroy Police Chief Denise Turner – want something that would mimic Project Homeless Connect.
It would be on a smaller scale and on a more regular basis with as many service providers as possible.
“We need one, centralized location so people don’t spend 40 hours a week trying to access services,” said Bernstein-Chargin. “If the place they need to get to is in San Jose, it’s not likely they’re going to get there. It’s a huge stumbling block.”
Gilroy Task Force members would like to plant a local facility modeled after the two the One-Stop Homeless Prevention Centers in San Jose – wrap-around programs targeted to chronically homeless adults with a variety of resources on hand all the time.
“One-Stop is one way to get people connected to all those services to become healthy and productive members of society. It’s our top priority,” said Turner. “We have a lot of different services, all in different places. It’s hard for them to know where those services are, or how to get there.”
At this point, Bernstein said the Gilroy Task Force needs to identify a location that’s available, then schedule service providers to be there who can help individuals connect with government programs they might be eligible for – such as social security, medical, food, second harvest and domestic violence.
Once Gilroy establishes it’s own One-Stop, it would likely be open once a week initially, then expand from there.
“Other communities are trying to develop One-Stop Centers as well,” Hening said. “Gilroy is the best example of that right now. They’ve taken what they’ve learned and making it more localized.”
