Liberty Community Services Photo
Liberty Community Services held its third annual “Project STYLE” fashion event attended by 300 local fashionistas at the New Haven Lawn Club to support its efforts in helping New Haven’s homeless community living with HIV/AIDS and mental illness.
The event raised $30,000 to help Liberty continue to bring hope, help and meaningful solutions to individuals facing homelessness in New Haven.
Emmett McCarthy, “Project Runway” alumnus and New Haven-born designer, was the curator of the show. WTNH-News 8 anchor Sonia Baghdady (pictured above, second from right) hosted the April 14 event. Keisha Blake of the downtown boutique Seychelles joined them to choose the winners from a group of seven local up-and-coming designers who showed their lines.
Tia Waters (in the black jacket in the above picture) was the grand prize winner; Neville Wisdom and Samantha Violante were the runners-up.
Waters has been part of Project STYLE since it began three years ago. She became involved with the event because Liberty helped house two people that she had befriended from the streets. She credits her moms, the ladies of Seychelles and Andy Rubenoff for giving her the strength and support to pursue her dream.