News release
Child & Family Center, in partnership with LA Family Housing, recently hosted the Santa Clarita Valley Homeless Connect Day, bringing together more than 30 community organizations and service providers to offer direct assistance to individuals and families experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless.
Held on Aug. 20 at Child & Family Center’s Education Center in Santa Clarita, the one-day event provided a welcoming, centralized location where over 100 community members could connect with a wide range of free services and resources, said a news release from Child & Family.
Available support included medical care, housing and shelter resources, legal assistance, food, haircuts, clothing, hygiene supplies, harm-reduction services, backpacks, and connections to additional social and supportive services.
The event was designed to remove barriers by bringing organizations directly to those who need them and allowing individuals and families to access multiple services in one location.
“Homelessness is rarely the result of one issue, and there is rarely one service that can address everything a person or family may be facing,” Luis Fragoza, manager of Child & Family Center’s Community Outreach, Resources and Education Program, said in the release. “Homeless Connect Day allowed us to bring providers together in one place so people could receive immediate help, make important connections, and learn about resources they may not have known were available. It was incredible to see so many organizations working side by side with the same goal — helping people in our community.”
Child & Family Center and LA Family Housing co-organized the event, with additional collaboration from community organizations throughout Service Planning Area 2. More than 30 participating providers offered services, information, and direct assistance throughout the day.
“This is what community looks like,” Nikki Buckstead, president and CEO of Child & Family Center, said in the release. “When someone is struggling with housing insecurity or homelessness, they may also be dealing with food insecurity, health concerns, financial challenges, mental health needs, transportation issues, and so much more. By bringing more than 30 organizations together, we were able to surround individuals and families with resources and, just as importantly, let them know that their community cares about them. We are incredibly grateful to LA Family Housing and every organization that showed up to help make a difference.”
