LEWISTON – A forum introducing homeless in the Twin Cities to the groups that can help them kicks off Wednesday at the B-Street Community Center, 57 Birch St.

“Basically, this brings those that provide services to homeless people together with those that need the services,” said Empower Lewiston’s Barbara Rankins. “We want to hook as many homeless people up as we can with service providers they need.”

The Housing and Resources Fair runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the community center. It’s being sponsored by Balance of State Continuum of Care Community Engagement Committee and the Lewiston Auburn Alliance of Services to the Homeless.

It’s modeled after larger fairs in other communities.

“Those are much bigger in scale and bring every kind of service you can think of,” Rankins said. “They have doctors screenings, haircuts, those kinds of things. We want to do something much more modest.”

The fair will be open to the area’s homeless as well as people who fear they may become homeless.

“We want to get them started, before the winter hits,” she said. “It’s not just helping them find homeless shelters, but also telling them who to turn to when their electricity gets turned off or how to prevent losing your lease.”

Between 30 and 35 service providers will set up information booths on the center’s first floor. Those include Pine Tree Legal, Trinity Jubilee Center, the Maine State Housing Authority, Common Ties and New Beginnings.

Representatives from each of those groups will sit on discussion panels, describing their services. A panel discussion on housing programs will be located on the second floor. A panel discussing other resources – including legal and similar programs – will be located on the third floor.

“The goal is to be as interactive as possible, so people can discuss what they need with the panels and sign up or make appointments to get help at the booths,” Rankins said.