Growing up in Omaha, Ed Shada wanted to be a football player or a rock star. Instead, he went to Creighton, helped start the rugby team and began a financial career on the West coast. Little did he know that over 15 years later, he would be back in town and become more deeply connected with the Ignatian values than he ever had been studying toward his math degree.
Last April the 1979 alumnus began Project Homeless Connect. Held at the Kiewit Fitness Center, it saw 318 homeless with nearly 600 volunteers offering assistance to get them back on their feet.
One organization ready to help was the School of Dentistry. After 132 initial assessments, 68 of the homeless received urgent dental care, and to date, 20 have been taken care of by the dental school free of charge.
“There was a high percentage of individuals that had definite need for some dental health, and in most cases it was quite acute,” said Dr. Gary Westerman, chair of the department of community and preventive dentistry. Problems ranged from teeth cleaning, gum disease, cavity fillings, extractions and full or partial dentures.
Dr. James Howard, associate dean for clinical services at the dental school, said they’ve already completed $7,000 worth of care and have budgeted $13,000 more for patients who require long-term care.
More than 60 organizations and businesses are on hand at the event to provide services such as medical care, legal help, haircuts, applications for public assistance and employment.
Shada started a Web site for the homeless to let their families know they were alive and hatched the idea for Project Homeless Connect after observing a similar event in Denver, Colo.
“The homeless are probably the most underserved and the easiest we can take care of. We wanted to give them an opportunity to find a service in one day, where it could usually take days or even months,” Shada said.
“It’s been kind of a religious experience for me. Ever since I had this idea, miracles after miracles have occurred. I can’t believe that happened.”
He said the success of Project Homeless was due to Creighton hosting the event, the Fr. Schlegel’s encouragement and drive and the generosity of staff and students to offer their time both at the event itself and throughout the year, such as the dental school.
Shada said they have followed up with about 80 percent of participants needing health care, and housing efforts continue. Four people found housing by the end of Project Homeless Connect, and since then 40 more have found homes.
“That’s a miracle,” Shada said.
Sada said while he was in college he wasn’t into the volunteering spirit. “I was more self-centered, thinking how I’d get through school. There was probably a lot going on, but I wasn’t paying attention to it.”
These days, Shada is passionate about helping the homeless, although his full-time job is at Bellevue University as a business development manager.
“I’d like to see us be able to help those who are less fortunate than we are, moving them into productive members of society. We should be taking better care of them,” Shada said.
By equipping those who are able with the right tools and services and motivating them to help themselves, Shada said homeless shelters and clinics can then focus on those with mental illness and drug dependency.
“These are life-changing events, when you see the transformation you can provide a patient who is so down and out. Dental care becomes a luxury rather than a necessity. Something like dentures is such a huge deal to them. It’s pretty amazing,” Howard said.
Even though Shada may not have been listening at the Welcome Week mass his freshman year when the banners were proudly paraded in with ‘Cura personalis,’ ‘Men and women for and with others,’ ‘Magis’ and ‘Faith that does justice,’ now he is living out Ignatian ideals every day.