Project Homeless Connect – Hastings is a one-day, one-stop event at which individuals and families who are homeless or near homeless can receive a variety of immediate, on-site services and support. In 2017, PHC partnered with CASA (Court appointed Special Advocate) and First St. Paul’s Church. We assisted 428 guests through a wide variety of agencies and services. Services were provided in the following areas at no cost: medical, dental, HIV testing, food, clothing, adult education, housing, car maintenance, employment, hygiene, disability assistance and veterans’ services,
“Hastings Community Foundation has helped us reach out to those needing the services through publicity grants. Publicity through many different forms of media is of vital importance to reach our sometimes nomadic population. With the grant we received, we were able to begin purchasing non-profit radio ads to reach more people in the counties we serve.
“One participant told us he had been living in his car in a park for several months. He was at his wits end. Out of money, no job and no prospects. He was desperate and didn’t know what he was going to do. Then he heard the ad on the radio about Project Homeless Connect. The event was the next day. That night, he said he slept in the church parking lot. He was able to meet with many agencies, receive services, get a shower and a haircut and clothes for a job interview. This year that hopeless man was a volunteer, giving hope to others! The gentleman is now employed full-time, stably housed and is almost done with his GED. If it had not been for the funding granted to us by Hastings Community Foundation, he never would have heard that ad. Who knows where he would be today.”
– Tina Winchell, Coordinator of PHC in Hastings
