ROANOKE, Va. – The Blue Ridge Continuum of Care hosted its first-ever resource fair at the Berglund Center on Thursday.
The agency is in charge of conducting the annual Point in Time Count, a measure of how many people are experiencing homelessness in the Roanoke Valley.
The goal of the resource fair was to connect people experiencing homelessness or in need of housing to services.
Some agencies at the fair included Rescue Mission of Roanoke, TAP, The Least of These Ministries, and Career Works. The Department of Health was also on-site offering free testing and vaccines.
People who attended were also asked to complete surveys that asked questions about where they live, if and where they work and their input on how Blue Ridge Continuum of Care can help.
“We are using it as an opportunity to connect folks to supportive services and resources in the community for employment, job training, benefits, just a whole variety of support that folks need to be successful,” said Human Services Administrator, Matt Crookshank.
While this was the first resource fair, organizers hope to make it an annual event.
Annual Point in Time Count reports are typically released in the Spring.