Up & Coming Weekly

Homeless Connect Brings People, Resources Together by STEPHANIE CRIDER According to www.about.com, almost 303,000 people live in Cumberland County. Adolph Thomas, City of Fayetteville community development specialist, knows that about 1,033 of them are homeless, and that there are not enough resources to go around to help these people. That is why the City of Fayetteville is joining forces with other agencies to try and bring changes to the community with Project Homeless Connect on May 20 at First Baptist Church on Moore Street. “Project Homeless Connect is an event sponsored by the 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness steering committee,” said Thomas. “The purpose is to bring the community together — and when I say that, we are talking about the primary agencies that deal with housing, health issues, parenting — all these different agencies under one roof — to provide a one-day service to the homeless residents of our county. The idea is that any issues that these people have we are asking people to help us deal with it.” For example, North Carolina identifi cation cards are a big deal. Without one you can’t get get a job and you miss out on many services that are available. Project Homeless Connect has asked the N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles to provide a way to get ID cards to those who need them and would not otherwise know how to go about getting them. The $10 fee is waived for homeless individuals, for obvious reasons. “That is a big stumbling block for a lot of these medical prescription assistance, medical and dental assistance, housing assistance, job placement, government assistance and more. “We are trying to include local, private agencies as well,” said Thomas. Everyone from local churches and non-profi ts folks,” said Thomas. “A lot of them don’t walk around with $10 in their pocket.” This is just one of the many areas that the event will focus on. It starts at 7:30 a.m. and runs through 1:30 p.m. Breakfast and lunch will be served. Free haircuts will be offered along with who are looking for ways to be helpful in solving this problem while ensuring fi nancial accountability is offered the chance to participate. Local businesses will be on hand, as well. “We are trying to include them as part of the solution, and to make them feel a responsibility for helping to solve the problem,” said Thomas, noting that the city is also reaching out to Fort Bragg in an effort to deal with the large number of homeless veterans. Transportation is provided free of charge to the event for those wishing to attend. Thomas said homeless individuals need to procure and give the bus driver the Homeless Connect F.A.S.T pass. “Most people think of homelessness as the guy on the street corner with a sign,” said Thomas. “What they don’t realize is that a lot of our homeless in Cumberland County are families sleeping in cars — single moms and children.” For more information about this event, or to volunteer call 433-2161. STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. Get the Blues at the Library’s Blues Showcase by JOY KIRKPATRICK On May 16, the Cumberland County Headquarters Library will come alive with the sound of music. Blues music. Claudia Swartz, the organizer of the annual Blues Showcase, and Jane Casto, the manager of the Headquarters Branch, have once again partnered to bring the sound of blues to the for people who really love music, but may not want to go to a bar atmosphere. It’s more like a concert, so you can really pay attention to the music. This showcase is a really great opportunity,” said Casto. The event is free to the public and will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. in the Pate Room at the Headquarters Library. Swartz also encourages people to bring their children, and said there will be young people performing the music as well. Ray King community, both young and old. “It’s a nice family event, for all ages. It’s WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM A highlight of the afternoon will be performances by 13-year-old John Locklear and his sister Layla Locklear, who is 16. Other performers will include the Robbie Reid Band, Corky Jones, BluesEnigma, Lakota, the Raiford Street Band, Mister P. and Friends, Ray King on percussion and more. “This event gives a chance for local blues musicians to come up and perform for 20- 30 minutes to give people a taste of what’s available locally,” explained Casto. “The whole thing came about from just seeing that there were so many incredible musicians and so much talent, but not enough venues to showcase them,” said Swartz of the annual Blues Showcase which began in 2005. Corky Jones “This event is geared towards young talent. There are more and more young talented musicians starting to play the blues.” Refreshments are not available at the event, but guests are welcome to bring their own non- alcoholic beverages and food to the Pate Room. For more information on the event, contact the library at (910) 483-7727. JOY KIRKPATRICK, Associate Publisher. COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or editor@upandcomingweekly.com. MAY 12-18, 2010 UCW 7

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