MARSHALL - For people in need long term help, or just down on their luck, there is help available in our community, but often the problem is knowing where to find it.
On Monday, Western Community Action of Marshall held its second annual Community Connect at the Marshall Area YMCA.
Angela Larson oversees homeless programs and food shelves for WCA. On Monday she was manning a table with free toiletries and blankets.
"Today we're having project connect to bring all kinds of service providers under one roof to make services more accessible," Larson said. "Literacy, homeless, crime victims services, veterans, housing partnerships, and environmental."
Nearby, Bruce Roby manned a booth for Southwest Basic Adult Education.
"This is an adult education service," Roby said. "I'm here answering questions about learning skills you need to qualify for employment."
Across the room Teri Herder-Blahnik manned a booth for the Consumers Services Network, a Mental Health advocacy organization, next to the Lyon County Veterans Services booth.
"We are the only organization of its kind in the state of Minnesota, staffed entirely by people with mental health issues," Herder-Blahnik said. "We're working to educate people who have mental illness, mental health issues, and their families, to allow people with mental illness to plan their own recoveries."
In the next room Esther's Kitchen, a project of Christ United Presbyterian Church, set up to serve chili.
"Esther's Kitchen is one of the community resources we want the community to be aware of, because every Thursday we serve a really good community meal," said Pastor Celeste Lasich. "And Community Circles meets here on Monday to share a good meal, things we are thankful for, and positive affirmations."
From jobs, to mental health, to recycling and free haircuts, Community Connect connected people and services in a myriad ways.
"And we're hoping to get built on every year," Larson said.