2024 marks 10 years of Service to the Unhoused of Jefferson City!

In 2004, San Francisco held the first Project Homeless Connect.  Since that time, many of these PHC events have been duplicated throughout the US.

In 2014 the Governor's Committee to End Homelessness reported that Cole County had 34 Cole County residents considered unsheltered homeless and another 40 deemed sheltered homeless. After this report, the Jefferson City Homelessness Task Force was formed in September 2014 to consolidate services and eliminate duplication of outreach efforts for the homeless.

September 14, 2015 - The Taskforce coordinated with the 3 downtown churches on Capitol Avenue to hold the first Project Homeless Connect in Jefferson City. The Taskforce was also granted the support of a $10,250 Community Development Block Grant through the city to hold the event. More than 200 area volunteers for Project Homeless Connect spent 7 hours on Tuesday serving homeless and low-income people in our community. Every guest was given a comfort pack as they finished their time with the event.

Since that first Project Homeless Connect, there have been many changes.  Services have expanded, more agencies and organizations have committed to help each year, and PHC-JC now involves more than a dozen churches. There are still approximately 200 guests helped each year. At any given point in time, the School District has up to 900 youth that are identified as not having a permanent living situation or technically Unhoused. Project Homeless Connect works to find ways to end homelessness and looks to the public for help as volunteers at the one day event each year.

Now the comfort packs are backpacks. Several local churches now have pantries to help year round with food insecurity.  A new Umbrella Organization - Housing the Community Jefferson City (HCJC) - is working with PHC-JC to establish a Day Center for our Unhoused to find help, get mail, or get out of extreme weather. The City is looking at Code to allow for Transitional Housing to start our Unhoused on the way out of their situations. JCRATI - JC Room at the Inn - has completed its 3rd successful winter of helping our Unhoused to find a warm bed to sleep in during our coldest months.