Hundreds of volunteers and homeless people connected at the Shaw Conference Centre for the second time in 2016.
Through Homeless Connect – an initiative by Homeward Trust Edmonton – community volunteers provided people experiencing homelessness or at the risk of becoming homeless with dental care, foot care, haircuts, mental health assessments, tax preparation and other services.
“I see a lot of relief,” Homeless Connect co-chair Kent McLeod told CTV Edmonton. “For the people who are coming back that have experienced the event before, a lot of these people are just bee-lining sometimes to the services they are looking for because they know what to expect.”
McLeod said that the main goal is to raise awareness about homelessness and to show people that these services are available to them.
Turnout has increased in every event, proving that the homeless are becoming aware that the support exists. But unfortunately, there’s another reason for the increase in attendance.
“There are a lot of people who are struggling,” McLeod said. “There’s been a bit of a turndown in the economy. People that are closer to homeless than they were before, at least now they can come and experience and get the information that they need in one place.”
With files from Jeremy Thompson
