Students: Volunteer with Project Homeless Connect
Matthew Ayres, a School of Social Work alum, is sending a call out to all CEHD students who want to enhance their educational experience while learning more about issues of poverty and homelessness.
Matthew is one of the coordinators of Project Homeless Connect, a one-day event offered every nine months or so through Hennepin County's Office to End Homelessness. This event is a "one-stop shop" model of service delivery for individuals experiencing homelessness, with services ranging from dental and medical, to housing and employment, to haircuts and free shoes. At the last event almost 1300 individuals were served with the help of over 500 volunteers. This year event coordinators are planning on 1500 guests and 700 volunteers. Each volunteer spends part of the day with the guests, helping them get to the services they need, doing an intake, and eating lunch and getting to know each other.
Matthew had this to say about CEHD student volunteers: "Last year we had about 10 students from the SSW come and volunteer on their own time, and each came to me later to talk about what a great experience it was." If you'd like to volunteer for this event, or know a student who'd been interested in doing so, visit Project Homeless Connect's Web site or email Matthew directly with questions.