What do you think of when you hear homeless? What kind of pictures of the homeless people come to mind? Dirty, smelly, hungry, all their earthly belongings in a few bags? I must admit that is kind of the picture I come up with. So when I volunteered at Project Homeless Connect I figured I would see several people fitting this description. Don’t get me wrong, these people need and deserve help if they need it and I wanted to put my “fears” aside and immerse myself into a world I have never ventured into. I was surprised to hear in orientation that at last years event nearly 60% of the participants claimed they were not homeless, but with the present economy it was understandable that several services were being unmet. I arrived at 6:30 for orientation and met several persons already in line. How did they find out about this event? How did they get there? My informant for this event became the client I was assigned to. For confidentially concerns I will only use their initials, J.L. As of 2 weeks ago J.L. is no longer “homeless” but just moved from the shelter. Unable to obtain employment and living on unemployment benefits. J.L. was seeking dental, vision, and drivers license services. While waiting in line for the eye exam we had time to talk. I asked how the information was obtained about the event. Church. How was transportation obtained? Walked. We talked about life at the shelter and what a blessing the apartment was. J.L. was clean and very pleasant to speak with. I could not begin to name all of the sponsors but eye care and eye glasses were donated, both of which J.L. received and appreciated. The dental services offered were limited and didn’t meet J.L.’s needs, so a referral was given. After the drivers license needs were met, J.L. was ready to leave. No lunch, nothing to drink. No loading up on the freebies. J.L. did take a duffle bag and a bus ticket to get back home. Many of my preconceived ideas were dispelled. I did see people who were dirty and had several bags of belongings, but this was the exception. I believe today’s economy brought more people than would have in recent years. I am thankful for this event as several persons who needed essential services were helped.