Homeless people in the Danville area…and those living on the edge of being homeless, were able to meet with representatives of 18 agencies – all in one spot – Friday. The Danville Public Library hosted ‘Project Uplift’, where the homeless could not only get information but also a hot meal.
Leslie Boedicker is head of the Outreach and Community Engagement programs at the Danville Public Library. She said the event was designed to help those who might otherwise have trouble reaching the services. ‘’You might need to go to the Social Services Department. You might need to go to Crosspoint. You might need to go to Danville Housing Authority. Well, these are all at opposite ends of town. So to have these agencies under one roof, where you can talk to all of them at the same time – you don’t have to figure out how you’re going to get across town – it’s really a benefit for those individuals who are having housing issues,’’ says Boedicker.
Boedicker added some people are living on the edge of being homeless, but often do not think about it. ‘’We get our paycheck every week – we pay our bills – and then something happens. We get sick. We can’t go to work for a few days. Maybe we have a job that only pays if you go to work. I have a friend who works at a car wash. She only gets paid when she works. If it snows – she doesn’t work. So things like that can happen that are out of your control. You don’t have the money to pay your heat. You don’t have the money to pay your rent. All of the sudden something happens and you find yourself in a situation that you didn’t expect.’’ But Boedicker wants those people to know that assistance is available for them through the various agencies.
[In the photo above, 17-year-old Elijah Davis who is in the Danville High School Problem Solvers Class, talks with one of the visitors who stopped by the event.]
About 150 people who are either homeless, or at risk of being homeless, participated in the ‘Project Uplift’ event. Boedicker says in addition to getting valuable information and a packet of items to help them…they also enjoyed food, part of which was prepared by students in the culinary classes at Danville Area Community College. Students from the Danville High School Problem Solvers Class were also there, talking to the homeless about their situation.
