What is Project Homeless Connect?

Project Homeless Connect is a one-day, one-stop shop to deliver real services to people experiencing real homelessness in our community- but this is also about a commitment to move from simply managing homelessness towards really ending homelessness.

Mayor R.T. Rybak, City of Minneapolis

Characteristics of a Project Homeless Connect event:

• Hospitality, consumers are welcomed guests.
• Immediacy, same-day results for consumers.
• Community, voluntary civic participation.
• Partnership, across agencies and sectors.
• Excellence, rigorous evaluation and improvement.

Origins of Project Homeless Connect

In the Fall of 2004, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom created the first connection event to engage and welcome homeless people back into the community. That winter, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness launched the National Project Homeless Connect Partnership.

Forty cities participated in the National Project Homeless Connect Week in December 2006, in 2007 the number of participants more than tripled to 130!

Project Homeless Connect, is more than just misguided hand-outs. The connection events offer immediate access to hospitality from the whole community without having to wait in line. Project Homeless Connect events provide resources to improve the quality of life with simple things that many of us take for granted like: a haircut, massage and foot care, phone calls, glasses, dental and medical care, meals, entertainment, etc.

Project Homeless Connect is breaking the myth that people do not seek assistance and services and would rather be on the street. The data proves that, when people are approached in a respectful and kind manner and with available resources, they are eager to accept help toward self-sufficiency…

Mayor Gavin Newsom, City of San Francisco

*Information provided by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness: http://www.usich.gov