Video sharing on-line shows the spirit and results from Project Homeless Connect partners around the country .

Social networking is all about making connections among individuals more visible and creating further opportunities for engagement. Project Homeless Connect, the now internationally-adopted, one-day, one-stop engagement innovation for people experiencing homelessness, is also about creating new relationships between neighbors - housed and homeless - and providing needed access and supports to end homelessness, ranging from quality of life resources such as haircuts and clothing, to housing placement and jobs, and offering opportunities for engagement of volunteers from all walks of life.

So it's no surprise that, just three years into the widespread adoption in more than 170 U.S., Canadian, and Australian cities of the Project Homeless Connect innovation through its encouragement by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness, on-line video sharing of local events has become a tool for both recruiting and reporting, adding an important layer of information and insight to other established supports, such as pilgrimages to Project Homeless Connect events in other cities, dedicated web sites, and Council peer-to-peer events, toolkits, and technical assistance activities.

Video sharing is also a smart step in developing a hybrid strategy to engage all partners in the community by changing "how we do business" in addressing homelessness - applying emerging strategies to new goals. Any business promoting a product would develop an appropriate and even unique distribution strategy to reach potential consumers, and video sharing is among the most contemporary.

On-line content currently available about Project Homeless Connect events includes interviews with event organizers, consumers, and resource providers, as well as focused pieces featuring specific resources, such as bike repair (always popular at Project Homeless Connect events).

Partners in cities which have convened Project Homeless Connect events benefit from seeing a visual record of their success, and have a chance to view other events from around the country to access new ideas.

Partners planning a Project Homeless Connect event benefit from having an authentic image of what Connect looks and sounds like, as consumers and resource providers are interviewed about their experiences and results.

Community partners who have not connected with the innovation benefit by finding video on line and learning about Project Homeless Connect and the opportunity to welcome their homeless neighbors into the community.

In this 20 in 20 issue, we've profiled just five of the available videos in order to offer a sense of what's been done around the country. All offer a view into what event sites look like, and highlight the important "mobile hospitality" of volunteers and guest escorts. While a number of cities have created videos on their events, we have focused here on several videos posted to mainstream video sharing sites, where they may be more widely viewed by a broader audience than on dedicated web sites.

Springfield, Massachusetts, has a Project Homeless Connect event scheduled for June 6 at the Mass Mutual Center, and its video is a strong recruiting tool for volunteers. Pastor Greg Dyson, leading the charge for the upcoming event, has captured the goals for consumers in his outreach materials: Expect refreshments all day long, and expect to receive real help and achieve real results, develop a life assessment and set real world goals, receive personal care, enjoy live music and local entertainment, receive help for your body, mind, and spirit - Expect Change!

San Francisco, the pioneer city in innovating Project Homeless Connect, features organizer Judith Klain and one consumer describing the movement through San Francisco's services with the aide of escorts. Several of San Francisco's corporate partners - including salesforce.com which manages Connect data - and Levi Strauss and Xerox describe their involvement. Other features are the benefits one-stop area, ID station, and Café Connect, the meal site staffed by volunteer waiters, who assist guests seated at fully dressed tables with centerpieces.

Eugene and Lane County, Oregon's video depicts a consumer seeking a haircut and a meal - two key resources for events - and interviews a Eugene Police Department official who is taking part.

Louisville, Kentucky's event - supported by and participated in by Kentucky Housing Corporation, interviews Louisville Metro Housing and Health Department officials on site, noting the role that their participation in the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness-National League of Cities 2006 Project Connect webinar played in their organizing of the event. Organizers describe how triage tables are used to move guests rapidly through points of entry, and how local public transit was enlisted to help consumers "connect."

Portland, Oregon has a very brief 2007 video that focuses on bicycle repair services, which are always popular at Project Homeless Connect. The video reports on bikes, strollers, and wheelchairs repaired, as well as hundreds of bike helmets distributed to consumers. Portland's Create-a-Commuter program, which distributes bikes to low income adults, also was on site and registered over 80 interested users.

"Results are infectious," business thinker Jim Collins of "Good to Great" tells us. Communities of all sizes across the country - and now across our borders and across the ocean - have adopted the innovation of Project Homeless Connect to welcome their homeless neighbors into the "living room" of the community.

More than 170 cities over the last four years have mobilized civic will to end homelessness, using the technology first pioneered by San Francisco, the model of veterans Stand Downs, and community response to Katrina evacuees. Innovation continues to emerge from Project Homeless Connect planning, partnership, implementation, and follow-up.

While there are a number of on-line sites featuring Project Homeless Connect content, below are several videos that show a range of event details and interview a variety of partners and consumers.

Watch the video for the upcoming Springfield, Massachusetts Project Homeless Connect on June 6.

Watch San Francisco's video of Project Homeless Connect.

Watch Eugene and Lane County, Oregon's event.

Watch the video from Kentucky Housing Corporation, which supported Louisville, Kentucky's 2007 event.

Watch Portland, Oregon's bicycle repair services at Project Homeless Connect.

Has your Project Homeless Connect event innovated to benefit consumers? Send a short description of your innovation to the Council, and we might use it in an upcoming feature.

If you are interested in learning more about the Interagency Council's upcoming technical assistance activities for Project Homeless Connect - including support for 2008 National Week cities - send an email to nphc@usich.gov

To read the Interagency Council's Project Homeless Connect Toolkit, visit our web site.

If your community is planning to partner in the 2008 National Project Homeless Connect Week - December 1-7, 2008 - be sure to contact us at nphc@usich.gov so you receive all National Week updates.

20 in 20, A Month of Innovations, continues tomorrow with a Special Issue focused on:

Researching Risk, Ending Homelessness:
A replicable strategy targets the most vulnerable
and disabled people living on the streets

Don't miss a single episode during this 20 in 20 Month of Innovations . . . but, if you do, you can always access the Council's "on demand" service and catch up. Just visit our web site at www.usich.gov/innovations

YES, we'd be happy to consider your innovation for an upcoming episode of 20 in 20.

Just email us the details of the innovation and the innovator, the benefits, the results, and contact information to: 20in20@usich.gov

email: usich@usich.gov

web: http://www.usich.gov