Need Help? One-Stop Shop For Medical, Legal, Employment and Other Services Saturday

One measure of the success of School District 622’s Project Family Connect might be that some who attended last year won’t be returning to this year’s event Saturday.

The one-stop shop for everything from resume assistance to dental services resulted in jobs for some and support like Medical Assistance for others, said organizer Jennifer Terry, a third-grade teacher at .

“The whole point is to catch people in the midst of this,” Terry said. “It’s before they’re homeless, when things are starting to slip, and catch them and get them help so they get access to as many services as they can.”

With the help of a committee of volunteers, Terry organized the event for the first time last year. They expected to see, at most, 500 people show up, she said.

They got 515.

This year, because the demographics of the school district are changing, with more students fitting the criteria for free and reduced price lunches, Terry said they’re planning for 800 attendees.

More than 51 providers will offer on-the-spot services at the event, which takes place from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at Woodland Hills Church. See a full list of service providers who’ll be there in the PDF section of this article.

Terry said the services will appeal to anyone struggling to make ends meet or in need of a little help to get by.

“You don’t know what you’re eligible for unless you come in and try,” she said.

In addition to services, families can also pick up food and toiletries donated by students in the district, and look through a room of free clothes collected by Terry’s 18-year-old daughter.

The event has been a joint effort of area schools, churches, businesses, community organizations and concerned individuals, Terry said. She said volunteers at last year’s event were overwhelmed by how grateful the families were to find out there was help available to them.

“You almost have to be here to get that feeling of what it’s like to walk a family through and just see on their faces that sheer relief that somebody cares enough to do something,” she said. “They would say over and over again, 'This is a godsend, you’re saving my life.'”

And for Terry, that’s what makes it all worthwhile, she said.

“The more we help our families, the more we help our kids succeed in school,” Terry said. “That’s the bottom line.”

If You Go:

The event is free, and no registration is required. The event goes from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 21, at Woodland Hills Church, located at 1740 Van Dyke St. in Maplewood.

How to Help:

Through Thursday, people can drop off donations of clothing or food at Skyview Elementary School. Anyone interested in volunteering can visit the Project Family Connect website to sign up.