Project Connect event provides health care to homeless

Veronica Lamberth waited with other Orange County residents for her turn to see a doctor through Project Connect at the Hargraves Community Center Thursday.

Once per year, Project Connect provides healthcare, dental care, legal services, housing resources and more to those who are homeless or who are at risk of becoming homeless.

“I think it’s very helpful,” Lamberth said. “Especially for people who are on lower income.”

Jamie Rohe, homeless programs coordinator for the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, said she thinks this year’s eighth annual event was extremely successful.

“Now that it’s our eighth year, we’ve got it really well organized,” Rohe said. “We’ve got a food committee, volunteers and logistics.”

Rohe said the most needed services were dental services.

“We get people here who have got really severe problems — teeth that need to be pulled, abscesses, infections, cavities or they haven’t had their teeth cleaned maybe ever,” Rohe said.

Oral pathologist Dr. Sasha Worley, a resident from the UNC School of Dentistry, said she spent her day screening patients who were in dire need of dental care.

“If there’s anything suspicious that we see, we’ll refer them to the school to have a biopsy done and that’s a free service,” Worley said.

“We’ll make sure that they’re getting the treatment and management that they need.”

Rohe said the planning committee raised awareness for the event by visiting various organizations across the county.

“We went to interfaith councils, shelters and to Freedom House, which is a substance abuse program, and a few other providers,” she said.

Lamberth said she heard about the event through the Freedom House Recovery Center, a nonprofit organization that provides residential and outpatient crisis services, and she was pleased that she made the trip.

“With the dental it has helped me get my teeth filled, and for the eye services, they helped me get some reading glasses,” Lamberth said. “They also gave me information on where I can get low-income housing, so it’s very helpful.”

Rohe said this year, Project Connect emphasized health services.

“We have ophthalmologists here that are checking for glaucoma and other eye problems and giving out free reading glasses,” she said.

Rohe said she was happy to announce Project Connect would be giving away 10 free eyeglass prescriptions to the Wal-Mart in Hillsborough, which were donated to the event.

Project Connect also offered an array of social services at the event, giving out thrift shop vouchers, food stamps and other services, as well as employment and housing counseling.

“There are a lot of people who never are able to really get a fair shot again, and what that does is it just drives someone further and further down into the well,” Rohe said.

Rohe said this year’s mantra has been “quality not quantity.”

“If you just bring all of the providers together on one day and get the people here, they have every shot at every opportunity that’s provided in the community as they can get,” Rohe said. “It’s all here.”

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