By Matthew E. Milliken

mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684

DURHAM -- For the third time in as many years, several dozen people and organizations converged on Durham's downtown Thursday to help the county's down and out.

Project Homeless Connect brought together roughly 20 different organizations and perhaps 200 people, all of whom were intent on assisting the homeless and unemployed individuals who flowed into the Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Toney James was lined up by the DBAP entrance shortly after 10 a.m. The 51-year-old -- Thursday was his birthday -- said he wanted help finding a job and getting disability payments. But his top priority was securing a place to call his own after five years of going without.

"It's hard out here," James said. "I'm tired of moving around [to] different places."

Kevin Greene was waiting near the back of the line Thursday morning. He said he lost his security job six months ago and has spent the last month at the Urban Ministries homeless shelter on Liberty Street.

"I'm here to get information about how to get a job, where to find a good shelter ... basically, to see the kind of services they have to offer," Green said.

Gregory Nunn was standing beside Green. He said he has a home but lost his full-time hospital job in early 2008. He's doing temp work at the same hospital, but the hours and pay vary widely from week to week, putting strain on his finances and marriage.

He came to Project Homeless Connect for help with a dental problem. One of his front upper teeth recently fell out, and he's embarrassed about how it will make him look on job interviews.

"Don't want to give a bad -- the wrong impression," he said. "Don't want to go in all snaggle-toothed."

Despite the wide variety of services on offer at no charge at the ballpark, including blood testing, haircuts and hot showers, it turned out that Nunn's wish for a temporary bridge couldn't be fulfilled at DBAP. Efforts to line up a mobile dental facility were unsuccessful.

Still, Durham Technical Community College, the Duke University School of Nursing, Lincoln Community Health Center, the JobLink Career Center, Legal Aid of North Carolina, the Durham County departments of public health and social services and many other organizations had representatives on hand for the event. Among other activities, visitors could apply for Medicaid and food stamps and check on pending applications with the Durham Housing Authority.

Lunch and use of the stadium were donated by the Durham Bulls, one of several corporations that sponsored Project Homeless Connect.

"It's a one-stop-shopping outreach event where we provide housing resources, legal counseling, education services ... and the JobLink all in one location," said Lanea Foster, who as resource specialist for the local Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness organized Project Homeless Connect. "Because one of the biggest issues for homelessness is you have to travel to so many different locations to get services, it almost makes it impossible."

Rosa Solorzano, associate director of the Duke nursing school's global and community health initiatives office, said that the school's 77 student volunteers were its largest contingent yet in the three years of Project Homeless Connect. The nurses in training were assisting as clients got blood pressure and glucose screenings as well as foot and skin assessments.

"It's a great opportunity for the students ... to work with a diverse group, to really know where they are, to know about the different services that are available in the community, so they will be better nurses," Solorzano said.

Participating in Project Homeless Connect was "a life-changing event" for her last year, Solorzano noted. "It was very beautiful to take the stigmas away [from] homelessness," she said.

Crystal Honore was one of around 65 event volunteers employed by AICPA, where the 25-year-old works as a conference coordinator. She's participated in every year of the event.

She has found helping others to be both rewarding and humbling.

"It just lets me know how privileged I really am," Honore said. "I have a house to sleep in every night. I have food on my table. I have transportation. I have a job to go to, and these people don't have any of that."

Organizers hoped to help about 300 people at Thursday's event, which was scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Shortly after noon, about 125 to 150 people seeking help had entered the ballpark.