12/13/2005
Media Contact:
Justin Ohlemiller, [317] 327-6709 |
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Nearly 900 served at Indy Homeless Connect
Mayor: First-time event a tremendous success
INDIANAPOLIS – Nearly 900 people experiencing homelessness or in housing crisis were served today at the city’s first-ever Indy Homeless Connect, an all day event at the Indiana Convention Center focused on care and outreach for the homeless.
Individuals, families and children were able to access a whole host of services, including medical care, food, vision care, legal advice, free winter clothing and housing assistance. Hundreds also took advantage non-essential, add-on services, like free haircuts and phone calls to family and friends.
The Connect clients were served by an estimated 600 volunteers and service providers.
“Indy Homeless Connect has been a tremendous success, and by all accounts, exceeded our expectations,” Mayor Bart Peterson said. “The goals were to get our homeless neighbors connected with the various services available to help lift them up, and to get the public engaged in the fight to end homelessness in Indianapolis. We are certainly pleased with the success on both fronts.”
The Mayor was joined at Indy Homeless Connect by Phillip Mangano, the Executive Director of the U. S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the President’s top appointee on the issue. Peterson and Mangano served lunches to homeless clients and thanked volunteers and service providers this morning at the Convention Center.
While local residents gathered today by the hundreds to aid the homeless, businesses and organizations have stepped-up in a big way over the last several weeks, Peterson said. Dozens of private sector partners provided nearly $60,000 in monetary and in-kind donations to make Indy Homeless Connect possible.
Peterson pointed out that the ending of today’s event marks the beginning of another important phase of Indy Homeless Connect: client following up. Several homeless clients scheduled additional appointments with service providers to receive further assistance, including job training and employment counseling, continued medical care, and information on housing opportunities.
Event organizers will be compiling additional data in the coming days to further assess the success of Indy Homeless Connect.
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