The Unsheltered Homeless Task Force will host a Helping Organization Summit from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Oct. 22 at Tri County Tech.
UHTF Vice-Chairman Rachel Showler provided an update on the task force – and an overview of the upcoming summit – during Monday night’s City Council meeting.
“It will be an opportunity for all of our helping organization leaders to get in the same room,” Showler said. “We’re going to present a lot of the data and a lot of the facts that we have uncovered during this journey as the task force. We’re also going to have a personal testimony from someone who has overcome homelessness.”
The summit will also provide an opportunity for helping organizations in the community to collaborate and network, Showler said.
“It’s just going to be a really great opportunity,” Showler said. “We’ve talked a lot in the task force about the importance of educating the public on homelessness, and what causes it, and how to overcome it. So, it’s another opportunity for us to educate the public.”
The UHTF has also been working with the Bartlesville Community Foundation to set up an endowment account. Once the account is set up, Showler said the plan will be to use any funds raised to award grants to helping organizations annually.
The task force has also been researching potential collaboration software for data tracking amongst helping organizations.
“It’s really important that our approach to overcoming homelessness is person-centered,” Showler said. “The only way that we can do that is to track data based on each individual … The circumstances that lead to homelessness are just as unique as the individual; on the other side of the coin, overcoming homelessness, the resources that they need, is just as unique as the circumstances that led them to homelessness.”
Further details on data-tracking software will be provided during the summit.
Lunch will be provided by the Agape Mission and Lighthouse Outreach Center.
Registration is free, but space is limited. Reserve a spot here.