SPOKANE, Wash. — Several hundreds of volunteers took time out of their day to help the unhoused community during the annual Spokane Homeless Connect event, held at the Spokane Convention Center. Today, they offered essential services to people experiencing homelessness, like assistance with SNAP benefit enrollment and ID picture renewals.
Bionkah Craven, a cosmetology student at Spokane Community College, was among the 450 volunteers who donated their time to help community members in need. She, and the rest of her class used their hairdressing skills to provide free haircuts.
“I’m so excited that I was able to give this opportunity to kind of make people more confident when they don’t have the money to be able to do this, because, haircuts can be expensive sometimes,” Craven said.
Event organizer, Aileen Luppert has been a part of the event for seven years. She explains why she keeps coming back.
“There’s so many people that need help, and this is a place where everybody is welcome to come get it. It’s just a day of trying to knock down barriers. So, I know it makes an impact when I am here and when everybody is here together,” Luppert said.
Rockwell Mckean, is a community member who has been coming to the event every year.
“I’m very grateful. Who wouldn’t be grateful for this? I mean, I just thank Spokane, and all the resources. I’m sure everybody else here does too.”
David Cooke, another community member who benefited from the services, described the event as “a godsend.”
Event organizers reported that approximately 1,900 guests attended last year’s event and expected an even larger turnout this year.
“It takes several hundred volunteers to come in, to help set up, to help escort people around, the navigators, you know, have to clean up all those things,” Luppert explained.
Organizers are already planning to meet again in the spring to begin preparations for next year’s event.
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