Showing a little HEART
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Juana Cortez of Albany browses racks of clothing provided by Love INC on Thursday for the 13th annual HEART to Heart Resource Fair at the Boys & Girls Club of Albany.
Andrea
Stutzman of Capital Dental cleans a visitor's teeth during the 2018 HEART to
Heart Resource Fair. Capital Dental
and Oregon Dental Service teamed up to provide cleanings and invite people
looking for providers to contact ODA at odscommunitydental.com
or 1-800-342-0526.
Missy Chavez, with baby Chloe Thaxton, 1, talks with Kids & Company Head Start during the 13th annual HEART to Heart Resource Fair.
Jason Dickerson and his partner, Lori, play with a kitten owned by Diana Fields from the Helping Hands booth.
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Love INC has
long been in the business of helping people, but until this year, it had never
brought a clothing closet to the HEART to Heart Resource Fair.
The
faith-based nonprofit has a 20-foot cargo trailer it fills with clothing and
takes wherever it's needed, said Deb Powell, Love INC executive director. This year, someone suggested the trailer come
to the resource fair Thursday at the Boys & Girls Club of Albany.
That was
fine by Juana Cortez of Albany, who spent part of her noon hour browsing the
clothing racks. She didn't find any
keepers, but said she was glad her friend had invited her to the fair anyway. "There's a lot of people; we get to be with
each other," she said through an interpreter.
The HEART to
Heart Resource Fair is now in its 13th year. Organized by Albany's Homeless Engagement and
Resource Team, which is where it gets its name, the fair brings together a
variety of community resource organizations to offer haircuts, dental
treatment, eyeglasses, pet supplies, new socks and more to low-income or
homeless residents.
As of
shortly after noon on Thursday, more than 150 people had browsed dozens of
information booths, from Linn County Mental Health to Jackson Street Youth
Shelter to Kidco Head Start to the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence.
Missy
Chavez, who came with her daughter Chloe Thaxton, 1, was particularly glad to
stop by the Linn Benton Housing Authority booth for information on low-income
housing.
"We
live in a shelter and we're trying to get out," she said, adding that she
still had several booths to visit. "I'm still doing my rounds."
Jason
Dickerson said he'd come to the fair once before and was glad to take advantage
of its services. He said he'd love to
see the fair last longer into the afternoon, or maybe held more than once per
year.
"If
you're a street person, there's no reason you can't come here and get cleaned
up," he said. "All these representatives,
I do appreciate."
One of
Dickerson's favorite stops was at the booth sponsored by First Christian
Church, another first-timer at the resource fair. The church holds a free community dinner each
Tuesday, where it also gives out packs of personal hygiene supplies, and
decided this year to bring those packs to the fair.
Volunteer
Rey Woitt said he got the idea because his mother, Pam Woitt, a teacher at the
Periwinkle Center, always spoke highly of her time at the fair with the Kidco
booth.
"I
always remember her coming home and saying, 'It was a big day, but I'm glad I'm
doing it,'" Rey Woitt said. "We
thought our booth would be a good fit."
Both First
Christian and Love INC said they'd be back again next year, joining more than
four dozen other organizations offering items and information.
"It
gets all the services that are in the community in one place, under one roof,
at least for one day," said Dina Eldridge of the Community Services
Consortium. "We love that we get
lots of veterans services, and Legal Aid shows up, and we're here – sometimes, they
might know about us. This is a way for
them to see about a lot of different services in one day and make
connections."
