Opportunities to give back this week

Project Homeless Connect, which brings together the city’s most vulnerable residents and programs and organizations that can help them, is looking for volunteers at its Tuesday event from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Champion Center at 3900 E. Bonanza Road. Volunteers can register at http://signup.com/go/sujywkj/

Three Square Food Bank is looking for volunteers to help them put on a Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday for veterans 60 and older and their families. The dinner started last week to address the estimated 26,000 food insecure seniors across the valley. Those interested in volunteering should contact Mikey Kelly, Veterans of Foreign Wars community meal project manager, at (702) 439-8158.

Gobble Gobble Give will deliver food, clothing and toiletries to the homeless from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday at Lama Lot on 717 E. Fremont St. To volunteer, please visit www.gobblegobblegive.org/how-it-works/thanksgiving-day/

Calvary Chapel Las Vegas is looking for volunteers for their 11th annual Blessfest for the homeless and those in need throughout the Las Vegas Valley. On Thursday, they will serve a meal and provide medical, dental and optometry services, including legal help, access to computers, personal grooming and more. For more information about this event visit cclasvegas.org/bf or call (702) 362-9000.

resources so long term they can have a place to stay, long term they can have a place to sleep and long term they can be well fed.”

But a homeless advocacy group is pushing back against the government’s message.

Eric Tars, senior attorney for the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty, said donating to charities and service providers is vital to helping homeless people, but giving money, food or supplies to those people directly supports their basic survival needs.

“Most of them are using it for their immediate needs, not anything people would consider less important uses, whether it’s drugs or alcohol or anything like that,” he said. “No amount of discouraging other people to give to them will force them into those services. It’s just going to make their lives on the street more difficult.”

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.