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Homeless Walk in Youngstown raises awareness
YOUNGSTOWN
Frigid temperatures and a gray sky threatening snow reminded a small group of people why they were participating in the fourth annual Homeless Walk.
“The single purpose of the Cold Weather Emergency Shelter Program is that no one freezes to death because there is no room at the inn,” said Robert Altman, Help Hotline Crisis Center program director and organizer of Thursday’s walk.
The Homeless Walk serves to raise awareness about the homeless and to kick off the 2011-12 emergency shelter program that began Thursday and runs through March 31. Program hours are 9 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. Transportation is provided, and collect calls are accepted.
“There is a warm place to sleep tonight” is the theme of the emergency-shelter program. Homeless individuals and families often sleep in their vehicles, abandoned buildings, doorways or anywhere they can get out of the cold, Altman said.
People who need a place to stay can call Help Hotline at 800-427-3606 or 211, he said.
About 30 people from area agencies and the general public bundled up and trekked from Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to the St. Vincent De Paul Society Dining Hall on Front Street where a news conference about the emergency shelter program was conducted.
Among the walkers was Jasmine Handy, who moved back to Youngstown recently after living 11 years in Columbus where she was involved in volunteer work.
“I wanted to support the effort to help the homeless,” said Handy, a 1998 graduate of Wilson High School. While in Columbus, she volunteered at her church’s Better Way Ministries and said she wants to implement ideas here that she learned in Columbus.
There are several individuals who live in makeshift tents, which puts them at very high risk during inclement weather, Altman said.
However, most of the Mahoning Valley’s homeless are “hidden homeless,” people who double-up with family and friends until they wear out their welcome and have to move on. ‘Doubling up’ usually lasts a short time. Overcrowded conditions can lead to problems, he said.
During the 2010-11 emergency-shelter program, 300 individuals and families used 5,060 bed stays at the Rescue Mission; and with the economy not improving, the numbers are expected to increase this season, Altman said.