(CENTREVILLE) – Project Connect will be looking a little different as it returns to St. Joseph County for its 14th year.

Due to COVID-19, and limitations to in person gatherings, this year's Project Connect will be a virtual, month-long event. It will include three components: distributing resource packets at regularly scheduled food distributions countywide, promoting the Community Resource Guide at www dot SJC Human Services dot com; and rolling out the HSC’s newest connection tool, a video library of agency introductions on the St. Joseph County Human Services Commission’s YouTube Channel.

Laura Brott, the Collaborative Coordinator for the St. Joseph County Human Services Commission says Project Connect Virtual 2020 will highlight the resource connection tools our county already has in place, drawing attention to the many services and supports available and how to access them. Brott says 2020 has been hard on everyone. More than ever, people need to be aware of what community supports are available.

Each video on the YouTube channel library is intended to briefly describe the services an agency or organization offers, who they are available to, and how to access the services. The agencies that usually attend Project Connect to connect with the public have all been encouraged to submit a video. Community members can watch the videos and learn about available services whether their need exists now or potentially in the future. Videos will be pulled from the YouTube channel throughput the month and posted to the Human Services Commission’s Facebook page and “Project Connect Virtual 2020” event page.

Project Connect Virtual 2020 will also draw attention to St Joseph County’s Community Resource Guide which contains information for just about every resource need in St Joseph County. It is a live document and is continually updated.