More than 600 volunteers gathered Tuesday at Memorial Coliseum to launch Project Homeless Families Connect.
Said to be the first event of its kind in the nation, the project mobilized community members and organizations specifically to help homeless families with children.
Project Homeless Families Connect follows Portland's first Project Homeless Connect last January, which reached more than 900 homeless people and used 400 volunteers. The events are part of Portland and Multnomah County's 10-year plan to end chronic homelessness.
Sponsored by Multnomah County and the city of Portland, the project also was supported by business and agency partners. An estimated 300 homeless families were connected with services and resources in a single day.
Families had a full day to access services such as housing, medical and dental care, vision screening, employment services, legal advice, assistance applying for benefits, addictions 
services, domestic violence counseling, clothing, pet health care and more.
Project Homeless Connect is a nationwide movement to increase access to services for homeless people and engage the community in finding a solution for homelessness.
