United Way gathering works to identify, connect services for those in poverty

Service providers attending a poverty analysis put on by the United Way of Hall County identified services they provide and needs not met in the community, all centered on these five core areas.

0225poverty — Service providers attending a poverty analysis put on by the United Way of Hall County identified services they provide and needs not met in the community, all centered on these five core areas.

The banquet hall at First Baptist Church in Gainesville on Friday turned into a big networking forum for people with a heart to serve those in need. Beth Oropeza, assistant director of Good News At Noon, a 30-year-old Christ-centered community outreach that offers men shelter and a hand-up, said she’s sure some in the room were introduced to her group for the first time, just as she found out about some services she’d not heard about. “I think some people are learning for the first time of all the services we have here,” Oropeza said.