On Wednesday, dozens of social workers, representatives of nonprofit and government agencies converged to put all homeless services together under one roof, if only for a single day.
By about 1:30, the line for haircuts was 60 deep. That’s despite the efforts of half a dozen volunteer barbers at an event Wednesday meant to connect the region’s homeless with resources, programs, help and a friendly ear.
Throngs of people lined up for health screenings, others availed themselves of pet grooming stations and vouchers for spay and neuter clinics.
The cavernous commercial building at the Silver Dollar Fairgrounds was, for a few hours, a refuge for those on the margins.
Corrina, who did not want her last name used, was among them. She was hoping to replace a state ID mistakenly left on a bus. It’s difficult to function without one.
“If you’re sitting in a park, just enjoying a day, and a police officer comes up, they ask you for your ID,” she said. “If you go into a store, they ask for your ID. If you return something, they ask for your ID. Everybody asks for ID, if you go for housing, they ask for your ID.”
Securing a new state identification card without a birth certificate, address or other proof can prove as challenging as scrounging up the now $28 fee.
Corrina said she and her husband lost their rental when the owner sold.
“We paid our rent every month, we paid our bills every month and they gave us three weeks and so we had to move and we had no choice but now we’re on the streets, and its hard times,” she said.
Others, like Oroville resident Karen, who also spoke on condition her last name not be used, was looking for help for her son, who has struggled with hard drugs for a decade.
“Unfortunately with his meth addiction, he’s not welcome in my home and I’m trying to get him some services to get him clean,” she said.
She says the event gave her hope.
“Here they have mental health which is wonderful along with all the homeless issues that he has, he’s living in a field right now.
Organizers say that if the money can be found, they’d like Homeless Connect events to occur annually, or perhaps more frequently.