Project provides connections for those down on their luck
Sylvia Bradley, left, of Youngstown gets a blood screening by Laura Daily, a phlebotomist at St. Elizabeth Health Center, at Project Connect. Thursday’s event at the Rescue Mission of the Mahoning Valley on Glenwood Avenue was to improve access to services and housing for the homeless and near-homeless.
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
A few years ago, Sylvia Bradley’s fianc died, which set into motion circumstances that led to two years of homelessness.
Nevertheless, the Youngs-town woman, who’s staying with a friend, feels hopeful about what lies ahead.
Fueling Bradley’s optimism was Thursday’s annual Mahoning County Homeless Continuum of Care’s Project Connect.
“I got a lot of information I didn’t know about before,” Bradley said during the five-hour event at the Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley, 2246 Glenwood Ave., on the city’s South Side.
The gathering was to improve access to services and housing for those who are homeless or near homeless and get them in touch with the right agencies and resources for assistance, organizers said.
Bradley recalled having dropped out of school in 11th grade and said she was grateful to obtain information about receiving her general-educational- development degree. She also set up an appointment with a doctor and took advantage of a clothing and food giveaway.
She was one of several hundred people who attended the gathering, which linked attendees with a variety of service providers. More than 250 preregistered, organizers estimated.
Offerings included resources on domestic- violence prevention, housing and job placement, counseling and mental-health services, college-preparation and adult-education classes; help for crime victims; services for veterans, including those who are homeless; and legal assistance.
People received free blood-pressure, medical and dental screenings, flu shots, cholesterol and diabetes tests, and haircuts. Some left with free books, jackets, shoes, toys and other items, courtesy of the Rescue Mission’s thrift shop.
People staying at homeless shelters can take a 30-day training program to gain skills for janitorial, housekeeping, sales and other positions, noted Robert Mitchell, a job-placement specialist for Goodwill Industries Inc.
To be eligible, the person must be off drugs and alcohol at least six months, Mitchell explained, adding that Goodwill also offers computer training and help with filling out job r sum s.
Winter is coming, so it’s imperative that people living in encampments near the Mahoning River, in vehicles and under bridges have connections to agencies willing to help, noted Jim Beach, a homeless outreach worker for Help Hotline Crisis Center Inc.
To that end, a program called Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness, or PATH, seeks to assess and ensure the safety of people who are homeless and suffer from mental illness.
Afterward, PATH links them with services intended to help them achieve permanent housing, recovery and independence, Beach explained.
Many children are poisoned because they accidentally ingest medications that look nearly identical to common candies, mistaking, for example, chewable candy for cold medicine. So it’s critical that parents are educated on the dangers of allowing youngsters access to such medications, explained Francine McBride, education coordinator with the Boardman-based Community Outreach Education and Support Center.
The center runs a local chapter of Safe Kids USA, a nationwide network of organizations that work to prevent unintentional injuries in children while advocating for better safety laws.
Among other things, the facility offers community-service projects to 11th- and 12th-graders in Mahoning and Trumbull counties, as well as education on chronic illnesses such as diabetes and asthma, McBride said.
Those desiring a free haircut or simple trim needed to look no further than Sherry L. Johnson.
Johnson, owner of the 19-year-old Tri Changes Salon in Girard, closed her business Thursday so she and her three employees could participate in Project Connect, she said.
Looking good often causes people to feel better about themselves, which can give them “the confidence to get that job, break that addiction or whatever it is,” she said.
“I believe in giving back,” Johnson said. “It feels good to do this.”