"I absolutely feel like I'm a guest," said Taz, a 48-year-old shelter resident, at last September's Project Homeless Connect. He received a backpack, clothes and food at the Hargraves Center event.

"I feel like I'm at home, which is unusual because I don't have a home."

Project Homeless Connect, where local agencies offer an array of services, is the most public initiative of the Orange County Partnership To End Homelessness. In addition to local government, the partnership's members include UNC, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, the Inter-Faith Council, OPC Area Program, the courts and formerly homeless people. The Partnership oversees the Ten Year Plan To End Chronic Homelessness.

At Project Homeless Connect, 200 guests were served with meals, goods and practical support. Opportunities to shower and get a free haircut were especially popular. Several agencies, such as the OPC Area Program, had staff on hand to authorize and schedule guests for first-time appointments with local health, mental health and substance abuse professionals.

Angela Cook of the Orange County Health Department arranged dental assistance for men in the IFC shelter. Over a two-day span, $7,000 worth of services -- cleanings, extractions, fillings, x-rays, and exams -- were provided at the Carr Mill dental clinic.

Sharon, a homeless woman who has been in the area for two years, said being homeless was new to her.

"I developed some health problems, which completely changed the way I lived," she said. "I usually have a lot of trouble getting to all the places I need to be, but today I took one bus to get here. It's uplifting and convenient."

One in three homeless people suffer from a severe mental illness and another third struggle with addictive disorders. The Partnership has three other programs to address the mental health and substance abuse needs of the homeless.

•A pilot project with the Housing for New Hope agency was funded by OPC Area Program to create a housing support coordinator. Julie Leon works with homeless individuals to provide housing placement, ongoing support and financial assistance (rental deposits, temporary rental assistance and past utility debts assistance). Since July, she has placed 15 people into housing.

•The PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) team of Housing for New Hope assists mentally ill and substance-abusing individuals in accessing services. Solomon Gasana and his team do street outreach and form relationships with individuals on the streets, in abandoned buildings or in camps.

•The OPC Area Program has provided funding to Housing for New Hope for the planning process and start-up costs to create a Community Support Team in Orange County. Consisting of various kinds of counselors and workers, this mobile team will provide clinical support and treatment to homeless individuals. This effort addresses a strategy of the Ten Year Plan, i.e., to improve the effectiveness of homeless service providers by reducing the possibility that individuals might otherwise fall through the cracks.

"Homeless people are human beings," said Calvin Harris, Project Homeless Connect's keynote speaker and a formerly homeless man for 20 years.

"It hurts when people think my name is 'Mr. Felon' or 'Mr. Homeless'. When I see a homeless person, I say 'there but for the grace of God go I'."

Jamie Rohe, a community development planner for the Town of Chapel Hill, says to end chronic homelessness, "which is such an intractable and complicated problem," it takes a network of initiatives and support. That's the kind of network the Orange County Partnership and the Ten Year Plan are working to provide.

Vanessa Neustrom is the housing coordinator for OPC Area Program. She can be reached at 913-4139.