Project Homeless Connect 2017

I had a wonderful experience with my guest and other volunteers. There were a couple of things that presented challenges for my guest to receive services. First, my guest had prescription glasses and wanted to have her vision rechecked because she felt her sight had changed. The eye glasses provider was unable to give her an eye exam because she already had prescription glasses and they only had one ophthalmologist on site. Second, she wore hearing aids and wanted to have them cleaned and batteries replaced. The hearing provider did not accept medicaid (all of the products were pricey-especially considering our guests were homeless or working with very limited financial resources), did not provide batteries, and did not clean hearing aids. All of those services seem to be standard care and in the future would be a wonderful service to provide. My guest said Hear Now is a non-profit in Denver who provides those services and accepts medicaid. Finally, my guest needed clothing and shoes. There were no clothing vouchers and all of the shoes had been given out by the time we reached the distribution table.

Even though some of her needs went unmet, she still received valuable services by attending. She was very grateful and pleasant, but hoped not to see me under the same circumstances next year! That's the beauty of the event...it provided hope. Also, the lunch was wonderful and a great way to connect with our guests.

Thank you to Anna Robinson for inviting me to participate in such an enriching event!