Friends Without Homes, a Lewis County nonprofit organization focusing on providing those experiencing homelessness with resources and aid, announced at last week’s Centralia City Council meeting it will host a forum to help clear up “myths and facts” surrounding homelessness.
The forum will be held at 2 p.m. April 8 at the Centralia Timberland Library located in downtown Centralia at 110 S. Silver St. It will be the first in a series of forums hosted by Friends Without Homes throughout the county.
“We’re working on a guest speaker that will hopefully be there. Other than that, will be a panel of peers, probably about four,” Friends Without Homes Peer Specialist Lisa Striedinger told Centralia City Council members last Tuesday.
Panel members will be people currently experiencing homelessness as well as those who have recently escaped it. There will also be a question and answer session.
Since the March 14 meeting, Striedinger has confirmed Kitsap County author and homeless advocate Richard LeMieux will be the guest speaker at the forum.
All community members, including those experiencing homelessness, homeowners and business owners, are invited to the forum.
“We’re trying to bridge the gap in between (them) and find out where that little piece is so maybe we can find those missing facts and come together as a community,” Striedinger said.
For more information on the forum, email Friendswithouthomes20@gmail.com or call 360-386-5915. For more information about Friends Without Homes visit https://friendswithouthomes20.galaxysites.org/.
