The event happened Tuesday, March 4 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Cloud Community Center. The free event was intended to connect the east Osceola community with essential services and support programs, including government, not-for-profit organizations, education, and businesses with a community focus.
Billed as a “one-stop” hub for community services, the event was organized by District 5 Commissioner Ricky Booth and the Osceola County Housing and Community Services Department.
Over forty organizations brought information booths and displays to the Community Center, representing a wide range of resources from housing and community services, veterans services, the Florida Department of Health, and Community Legal Services of Mid Florida.
The event was heavily attended at least during the first two hours, with attendees able to meet one-on-one with representatives from local agencies, receive valuable information, and start the process of gaining access to assistance programs. Numerous door prizes, mostly donated by exhibitors, were given away throughout the event.
The federal Veterans Health Administration, part of the overall Veterans Administration (VA) was on hand to provide information on veteran health and other benefits through the VA. A separate Suicide Prevention Team from the Orlando (Lake Nona) Medial Center was available to consult with veterans and family members. Osceola County Veterans Services also exhibited at the event.
Typical of the organizations exhibiting was the Access Community Center, which has an office in Poinciana, and recently opened an office on Vine Street in Kissimmee. They describe their services as a “one-stop center for your insurance needs. Health Plans, Medicare, Obamacare, Life Insurance, Assistance with federal programs (SNAP, Medicaid, etc.) and more.” They also held “food pantry” events this year at both of their locations in Osceola County.
Seemly a bit out of place at the event was the information exhibit by high-tech NeoCity. As it turns out, they were there to highlight NeoCity’s resources for “training the workforce of the future” with partners Valencia College, the University of Florida’s Florida Semiconductor Institute, and the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
Osceola County Housing and Community Services Department provides housing services, including rental assistance, Section 8, and access to the state housing SHIP Program; a wide variety of and referral to social services programs; and the County’s Veterans’ Services Office. No future resource events have been announced. For more information on the Osceola County Housing and Community Services Dept., see https://bit.ly/3XwLyTU.
