The 2024 National Conference on Ending Homelessness brings together service providers, system leaders, advocates, and people with lived experience of homelessness to learn from each other, discuss best practices, and share new innovations in the field. This year it will be held in Washington DC from Monday to Wednesday, July 8 to 10 and, as a group, will celebrate Capital Hill Day on July 10.
At the 2023 conference held in Oakland, CA, the event provided a unique platform for The Source to share how they are combatting the homelessness issues in Vero Beach through their many programs and services. The majority of their presentation, through booth presentations and roundtable sessions, was about Dignity Bus, their one-of-a-kind innovative solution to the nationwide homelessness crisis.
This year they have been selected to offer a Transformation Talk entitled “The Dignity Bus” at the conference. Since The Source’s last affiliation with the nonpartisan National Alliance, who’s mission is committed to prevent and end homelessness in the United States, the Dignity Bus has had exposure nationally, with two converted buses sold to non-profits in Rhode Island and Illinois, and a total of three converted buses in Vero Beach sleeping a total of 56 homeless individuals 7 nights a week. Anthony Zorbaugh, Executive Director of The Source and Jonathan Orozco, Development Director will be attending the conference and speaking at their presentation.
Dignity Bus is an “overnight emergency shelter on wheels,” and the first of its kind in the country. Converted from a one-time passenger bus, the bus provides a safe, temporary overnight accommodation for those sleeping rough in their community with an aim to get people off the street and keep them safe and healthy until they can get back on their feet.
I am Ministries DBA The Source is a Christian social outreach ministry that has been empowering communities into a lifestyle of service for the homeless since 1995. Founded in Indian River County, the organization serves its homeless neighbors through core programs and services that instill a sense of community. For more information on The Source and Dignity Bus, contact Executive Director Anthony Zorbaugh or Jonathan Orozco at 772-564-0202, or visit www.iamthesource.org.