PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The city of Portsmouth hosted ConnectFest across several days this week, to connect the community with city resources.
The event gave organizations the chance to show residents what they have to offer, valuable information, and the means to find resources to help them thrive.
According to the Manager of Workforce Development with Portsmouth Economic Development, Nahla Saleh, ConnectFest was a partnership with Portsmouth At Work and the Portsmouth Police Department.
"There is a need to do events that are onsite in the community and that's where Portsmouth ConnectFest came about," said Saleh. "We picked the three communities in Portsmouth that needed the most. The barrier of not being able to go into a hiring event or finding resources so we bring it right into the community, on-site."
Saleh said this year the city opted to tailor the event to be more family-oriented by including the distribution of school supplies and featuring a bounce house, cotton candy, and other games and activities for kids.
"The plan is to do it and rotate it to different communities in Portsmouth every year to provide the same resources and opportunities throughout Portsmouth," said Saleh.
ConnectFest is important, Saleh said because Portsmouth is in need of different resources ranging from mental health to food insecurity to unemployment issues.
According to Saleh, the Police Department and the city taking a lead in the betterment of its citizens.