2015 Provider Information Packet

Transcription

1 2015 Provider Information Packet Welcome! We are so excited that you are joining us on Thursday, September 24, 2015 to provide for the needs of our city s poor and underserved citizens. This packet contains everything you will need to know concerning your participation at the event. We cannot thank you enough for all of the hard work that you do every day. This event represents the culmination of a year of planning, and it brings together the efforts of hundreds of Baltimore-area and Maryland organizations and thousands of individuals. We hope this event will be a great success, and we could not have done it without you. Thank you, and welcome to Baltimore City s Fourth Annual Project Homeless Connect! General This event will be held in the Baltimore Convention Center. There are two main Baltimore Convention Center buildings, and our event will be held in the East Building closest to the Inner Harbor. The Baltimore Convention Center is located at: 1 W. Pratt Street, Baltimore, MD Training If you are new to the event, or if you would simply like a refresher on the event flow and design, please consider watching the training video, which can be found on our website at City-Wide Contingencies In the unlikely event of a city-wide emergency or weather irregularity, please check our website for important updates at Questions? us at: phc@uwcm.org 1

2 BALTIMORE CONVENTION CENTER Provider Arrival Times Providers should plan on arriving no later than 9:00 am. Please note: this means arrive at the Convention Center at 9:00 a.m. If you are driving, you should plan to arrive at 8:30 a.m. to give yourself time to park and walk or take the shuttle to the Convention Center. Some providers have been asked to arrive earlier. If your particular organization needs more than an hour to set up, please plan on arriving earlier. Everyone must be fully set-up and ready when services begin for participants at 10:00 am. Provider Departure Times Providers should leave no earlier than 4:00 pm. Please make sure that you turn in your service tally sheets at the main information table before you leave the event. 2

3 Public Transportation Charm City Circulator: The Convention Center is accessible via the Orange, Purple, and Banner Routes. More information on these bus routes is available at: Public Transit: The Convention Center is accessible via public bus. The MTA Trip Planner can provide you with detailed instructions for what bus or combination of buses to take: Light Rail: The Convention Center is convenient to the Light Rail stop Convention Center. More information is available at: Parking Parking is available free of charge in Lot C of the Stadium System. Lot C is located between the M&T Bank Stadium and Camden Yards. A free shuttle will be running to and from the parking lot all day, arriving and departing approximately every 20 minutes. Directions to Lot C: From the North and South Exit 53 from I-95 and take the first exit on the right (Russell Street). Make a Right at the stoplight (onto Lee Street/ Ripken Way); then a Right into the entrance of Lot C. From Downtown Take Howard Street South; make a right turn at Conway Street (near Camden Warehouse). Proceed down the service road to the entrance to Lot C. 3

4 Unloading Materials through the Loading Dock Providers who need to deliver and unload large quantities of materials will enter via the Loading Docks. To access the loading docks, head eastbound on Pratt, turn right into the Convention Center service lane, and then turn right onto Charles Street. The entry to the service drive is on the right before the Sheraton Hotel at the service gate. Our loading docks are at the very end of the delivery garage. Don t worry: there will be plenty of signs and volunteers to direct you to the proper location. At the security gate on Charles Street, please tell the security personnel that you are here to drop off items for Project Homeless Connect. Please be efficient in unloading your materials, as the loading dock will be quite busy. Also, do not park in the loading dock. Day-Before Setup Providers are strongly encouraged to drop off your materials and begin setup the day before the event (Wednesday, September 23, 2015). We ask that providers seeking to set up on Wednesday to please come sometime after 6:00 pm. Please contact Scott Gottbreht, Project Manager, if you plan to setup the day before the event: scott.gottbreht@uwcm.org Provider Entrance Once on Foot / Shuttle Drop-off Please enter the Convention Center on foot, by vehicle, or if being dropped off by the parking shuttle through the loading dock off of Charles Street halfway between the Sheraton Hotel and the Convention Center. Volunteers will enter through the side door closer to Pratt Street. Providers do not need to provide their individuals names but instead simply state the name of the organization with which they are affiliated in order to enter the premises. This entrance will ensure that you do not need to wait in the volunteer line, which will be hundreds of people long. The entrance will be clearly marked by our signs. 4

5 Provider Service Vehicles If your organization has registered to bring a service vehicle out of which you will operate (for instance, an RV or 30+ foot van), these vehicles can be driven directly onto the exhibit floor. We are asking all RVs to arrive at the Convention Center on Wednesday, October 1, 2014 (the day before the event) at 12:00 noon **It is very important for safety reasons that you have 1/3 tank of gas or less while you are in the Convention Center. 5

6 CHECK-IN DETAILS: Step 1: Enter and Proceed to Your Area - Volunteers will be stationed at the Provider Entrance (on Sharp Street, see map above) to direct you to your specific area (i.e. legal, housing, employment, etc.). A map of the area locations within the Convention Center is provided at the end of this packet. Step 2: Connect with the Chairperson of Your Area - In your area, an Event Team member wearing a red shirt will direct you to your table. This team member is the area chair who will be in your area to help you should you need anything throughout the day. They are your primary point of contact for the day. Step 3: Paperwork - At your table, you will find a tally sheet to record the number of participants that came to your table and the number of times you provided a service and scheduled an intake or follow-up appointment. Step 4: Get settled - Set up your table, put out your materials, and prepare for services to begin at 10:00 am. The doors will open to the event to participants at 9:30 am for everyone to listen to the kickoff ceremony together, but please do not begin to service people until the ceremony is completed. You are encouraged to take some time to meet the other providers in your area. However, please return to your table no later than 10:00 am when the opening ceremony concludes. WHAT TO BRING: Program Materials Please bring a surplus of flyers, brochures, giveaways, etc. Most providers last year reported that they were not prepared for the large number of participants who visited their tables. It is better to bring too many handouts and items than too few. We expect around 2,000 total participants. Personal Items - Please bring your cell phone. Please be sparing when considering whether to bring bags or purses: we do not want to create the risk that your belongings might be lost or stolen. Unattended bags at the Convention Center are security risks and may be removed by Convention Center security. 6

7 Attire Please dress comfortably. We recommend wearing closed-toed shoes and either jeans or shorts, preferably with pockets. Please do not wear any expensive watches or jewelry. Service-provider representatives will not be given an event t-shirt. Instead, you are encouraged to wear clothing that is specific to your organization, such as program t-shirts, hats, buttons, etc. Please note that volunteers at the event are wearing color-coded t-shirts for organizational purposes: Live United United Way employees and event organizers Orange Event staff & information Red Emergency personnel Lime Green Mental Health Professionals White Volunteer Guides, Greeters, Giveaways, Bus riders, and Runners Light Blue Volunteers with fluent in Spanish or sign language DURING THE EVENT Passport System New this year, we are implementing what we are calling a passport system. As you and your participant move from service to service, the service provider will stamp your participant s intake form. Your participant needs to have seen at least 5 service providers before they can enter the giveaways line. This system acts as an incentive for participants to access a variety of services, and it prevents people from coming into the event just to get freebies. This system also steers traffic to some of the providers that are not as high profile as services like photo ID or haircuts. Please make sure that each provider stamps your participant s form as you visit them. Count Your Numbers! At your table, you will be given a tally sheet that you can use to keep track of how many participants received information and services from your organization during the event. This information is very important for our recordkeeping and reporting. Please be vigilant about keeping track of this information. At the end of the day, you will need to return this tally sheet to your area chair. Printing/Copying Printers will be available. There will be a printing and copying lab directly adjacent to the main information table. We ask that you limit the number of pages of printing and/or copying to 50 pages per organization. Food Lunch will be provided to all service providers. Dining services will run from 11:00 am 3:00 pm. Volunteer food runners will bring your lunch to your table so that you do not need to leave your station, and there is also an area designated for providers and volunteers to eat their lunch and take a break if needed. There will be water bottles on site, but if you want to bring a water bottle, please mark it with your name and know that you will have to keep it with you throughout the day. Restrooms Numerous restrooms and water fountains are available throughout the Convention Center. They are distinctly labeled throughout the venue. 7

8 Smoking If you need to smoke, please visit the designated smoking area on Charles Street (the same area through which volunteers enter the event). CLOSE OF THE EVENT Take Down Please plan to remain at the event until 4:00 pm. The doors close to new arrivals at 2:30 pm. However, services will continue for those arriving even up until 2:30 pm and will last until 4:00 pm. Participants will not be asked to leave the premises until 4:00 pm. Providers must have all of their materials and equipment out of the Convention Center by 5:00 pm. Check out Please check out with your area chair. When checking out, please turn in your tally sheet before you leave. Please turn these sheets in at the main information table of the event. Data collection is very important to improving the event in future years. 8

9 SAFETY INFORMATION Mental Health Situations - Mental health professionals will be stationed at the information desk and throughout the venue. They will be wearing green shirts. You should contact a mental health volunteer if a participant is experiencing a crisis or if you are having difficulty interacting with him or her. Medical Situations A first aid area is available near the event exit. For serious medical situations, please contact an event team member wearing a red shirt. In situations of a serious medical crisis, please dial 911. Large-Scale Emergencies - In the unlikely event of a mass emergency, such as an earthquake, an event team member will make an announcement over the PA system with instructions. Please stay calm and quite to await these instructions. Event team members wearing red shirts are available to assist you in the event of an emergency. Critical Incidents - A critical incident includes situations such as crimes or emergencies. Examples include: intoxicated participants/volunteers; instances of sexual harassment; drug use; etc. In these situations, please contact an event team member wearing a red shirt. If you see something, say something. Do not attempt to resolve the situation yourself. Please allow the security professionals to do their jobs. Safety is our number one priority at this event. THANK YOU! Thank you so much for your care and concern for people who are experiencing homelessness and in need in our city. Project Homeless Connect will be very meaningful for them and hopefully for you as well. We could not do this without the help of our wonderful service providers! <<PLEASE SEE THE EVENT LAYOUT MAP ON THE NEXT PAGE>> 9

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