PHC Says Message of Event is Real People, Real Help, Right Now
Newswise — San Francisco, CA, December 14, 2011 – For people who are homeless the winter can be long, cold and wet in San Francisco. That’s why all those attending the December 14th Project Homeless Connect (PHC) event at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium will be getting something to help keep them warm this winter, a thick hooded sweatshirt.
“The services we offer at each event can be life-changing,” says Kara Zordel, Director of Project Homeless Connect, “but sometimes it’s the simplest things that are the most powerful in letting people know they are cared for. That’s why our goal at the December event is to give every one of our clients a warm hooded sweat shirt. We hope that every time they wear it they’ll think of the help they got at PHC.”
A growing number of people are in need of that help. According to new data from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) 85,000 low-income adults in San Francisco are estimated to be food insecure, meaning they are struggling to be able to afford healthy, nutritious food. Many other individuals and families have to make tough choices between paying their rent and utilities such as electricity and gas, and buying food.
“Living on the brink of homelessness or hunger is exhausting, both physically and emotionally,” says Zordel. “At Project Homeless Connect we can help individuals and families get the assistance they need, sign them up for programs that will help them pay their bills, clothe and feed their children and avoid ending up on the streets.”
Volunteers help provide desperately needed services to all those who come to the event. Those services range from helping people get temporary housing, to signing up for safety net programs such as SSI or General Assistance, accessing health care with medical, dental and vision check-ups, even something as simple as getting a haircut or their wheelchair repaired.
Many of the volunteers in December will be from Kaiser Permanente, which is sponsoring the event for the fourth time.
“The work of Project Homeless Connect is vital to ensuring that all San Franciscans, regardless of their housing situation, have access to services,” says Dr. Leah Klinger, Assistant Physician in Chief at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco. “At Kaiser Permanente we not only recognize how important it is to give back to the community, but it is core to our mission to give back to the communities we serve and reach out to people who are in need. We are proud to continue our partnership with Project Homeless Connect.”
For more information contact Kevin McCormack or go to www.projecthomelessconnect.com
About Project Homeless ConnectProject Homeless Connect makes a real difference in the lives of the City’s homeless by bringing together almost 250 non-profit agencies, private businesses and volunteers to assist San Franciscans in need. Since the program’s inception in October 2004 as a joint effort of San Francisco’s health care, housing and human service systems, Project Homeless Connect has been supported by tens of thousands of volunteers, individuals and companies giving their time, cash, clothing, food and essential services. To date, this program has provided services to thousands of the City’s most economically disadvantaged men, women and children with basic human needs and housing. Project Homeless Connect is a key component of Mayor Newsom’s 10-year plan to abolish homelessness in San Francisco. This unprecedented approach to helping the homeless has been adopted as a national model in more than 170 jurisdictions in the U.S and has also been implemented in Canada and Australia.
About Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America's leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. In 2010, Kaiser Permanente invested a total of $1.8 billion in our wide-ranging Community Benefit programs, up from $1.7 billion in 2009. Our Community Benefit grants totaled $89 million and reached 2,522 organizations in our communities. For more information, go to www.kp.org/newscenter
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