On Monday, more than 35 stations were set up in Quarterpath Recreation Center: from Williamsburg-James City County Schools’ table laden with books, applesauce and bottled water to the Lion’s Club vehicle offering vision and hearing checks and the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority’s table with free water bottles and drawstring backpacks, the homeless and precariously housed members of the community had a lot of options for free information and items at Hands Together Historic Triangle.
LEAD Historic Triangle, a group sponsored by the Greater Williamsburg Chamber and Tourism Alliance ,has biannual classes that aim to educate the class members on courts, city council, the General Assembly and other political and community programs. The class members produce a project to benefit the community.
The 2013 class put together Hands Together Historic Triangle to benefit the homeless or “precariously housed”- a group of people who may not have a permanent home of their own but live with friends or family or are at risk of losing their housing.
The Hands Together Historic event began at 10 a.m. Monday and by the time the event ended at 5 p.m., more than 200 people from the community had been helped.
Visitors started out meeting with a guide to discuss some basic information about the services each person or family was seeking. Volunteers from the R. F. Wilkinson Family YMCA welcomed children so parents could get around easier.
Visitors could take advantage of free basic medical screenings, including eye and vision tests, blood pressure checks and sexually transmitted infections tests. Bike Beat offered safety checks and bike repair. In a hair cutting area, visitors took advantage of the opportunity to get a cut or trim. Photographer Kim Kiely was available to take photos in place of expensive school pictures, giving families wallet-sized shots of their children.
The Williamsburg Farmer’s Market will start accepting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program, this spring.
Stephanie Leek of Williamsburg-James City County Schools distributed information about services for homeless students. Last year, there were about 400 homeless students enrolled in WJCC schools.
Under the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Act, students who are homeless are guaranteed access to school enrollment and programs, stability in schools, free breakfast and lunch and transportation by bus, car or van to their school.
If a student moves during the school year to an area still near the school they started attending, they are still able to attend the school and receive transportation even if they live out of the school zone. The school divisions also work together to assist students who move from one school division to another, such as from the Williamsburg area to Newport News or Norfolk.
Leek said when a student transfers to a different school during a year, they could lose several months in the transition because of different teaching styles and programs in the schools.
On their way out, visitors picked up a boxed lunch that had been provided by Busch Gardens. They sat eating lunch with their guide from the day or with vendors from the various booths.
A free “store” provided the chance for people to stock up on some necessary items. Each person received three meals’ worth of boxed and canned food and a bus ticket and had the choice of several other items including gift cards to grocery stores or Chik-Fil-A, make up, back packs or briefcases, school supplies, books, diapers and wipes, cleaning supplies, toys and paper towels. New white button down shirts and black pants were also available, which LEAD class member Natalie Miller Moore said were chosen because of the common tourism and food service industries uniform.
Jason, a Williamsburg community member, recently returned to the area after living in Charles City. He said he is planning on getting an apartment when he receives his tax return, but attended the event hoping to find out information about first-time homebuyer loans.
Jason said he appreciated the Lion’s Club offering free vision and hearing exams, but hoped there would be some college representatives present. He said a lot of people are afraid to go back to school or don’t know how to go back.
Literacy for Life, a nonprofit located at the College of William and Mary had a booth at the event and was sharing information about the programs it offers, which include adult education and English literacy. About seven people signed up to find out more information about Literacy for Life programs.
Social Services and nonprofits like the United Way helped to distribute about 2,000 informational cards Hands Together Historic Triangle printed. More than 500 volunteers and vendors put upwards of 2,000 combined hours into organizing the event.
Hands Together Historic Triangle was the first event of its kind in the area and was inspired by a Richmond event called Project Homeless Connect, which is held at the Richmond Convention Center.
“Your event is pretty unique in your catering to families. We cater to individuals,” said Erika Schmale from Homeward in Richmond, the group responsible for coordinating Project Homeless Connect.
Schmale said this year will be the sixth year for Project Homeless Connect and in its first year, the project had about as many visitors as Hands Together Historic Triangle had.
LEAD Historic Triangle is planning on putting together a guide for Crosswalk Community Church, which plans to take the lead and offer this event in the future.
