Helping the homeless

Annual walk raises funds for Safe Nights program

Friday, Dec. 12, 2008

Click here to enlarge this photo Submitted photos Registration began early on a recent Saturday as more than 550 volunteers and walk participants joined the annual Walk to End Homelessness. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story Click here to enlarge this photo Walkers braved the cold to walk three miles in and around La Plata to raise money for the Safe Nights program. Click here to enlarge this photo Participants line up before the walk. Click here to enlarge this photo Even man's best friend joined the walkers. Click here to enlarge this photo Members of St. Paul's Episcopal Church Piney Parish in Waldorf recently joined the sixth annual Homeless Walk to benefit the county's Safe Nights program.

On a cold, windy, early morning recently, there was great excitement, music and unity as hundreds gathered to help homeless folks.

A crowd of more than 520 volunteers and walk participants, an increase of 15 percent from last year, began to gather for Charles County's sixth annual Walk to End Homelessness sponsored by the Homeless and Emergency Shelter Committee. People of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, socioeconomic statuses and religious faiths gathered at the La Plata Town Hall to support this year's three-mile walk, with proceeds benefiting the Safe Nights program.

Safe Nights provides temporary shelter for homeless residents of Charles County. Safe Nights is a united and compassionate response to homelessness in Charles County, working cooperatively with the community to provide housing to individuals and families during the cold winter months.

Started in 2005, Safe Nights operates from Nov. 1 through March 31 each year. The program provides a safe refuge offering temporary shelter, meals, bathroom facilities and transportation at no cost to the program participants. The program rotates among area churches that provide the use of their facilities on a pre-scheduled, rotating basis.

Congregations contribute volunteers, shelter, food and socialization.

LifeStyles — a La Plata social services nonprofit agency — provides general oversight of the program. The Charles County Commissioners have provided a $50,000 grant to operate the program; the program budget is approximately $96,000.

Proceeds from the walk and other contributions help to defray the costs of the growing program. This is the third year that the program has received the walk proceeds.

Over the past three years of the program, 599 people have been served in Safe Nights, with an average of 18 to 24 people served each night.

As participants walked, many signs, such as "Safe Nights Wakes Up a Better Tomorrow" and "Reach Out a Hand to One and Influence the Condition of All," and organizational banners were held for the general public to see, not only as a sign of unity among participating organizations, but also to raise awareness about the homeless population in the county.

"This walk continues to grow because more and more organizations and individuals are aware of the growing homeless problem nationwide. The current economy is also making it much harder for working families to stay in their current residences," stated a LifeStyles press release. "Many people are choosing between groceries for their family or paying for their utilities each month. We continue to have the walk during November because we want persons to realize that the homeless are without shelter, regardless of whether it's scorching hot or in the frigid cold."

The committee has a goal of raising $30,000, and has so far raised more than $11,000, including registration fees, individual and corporate sponsors, and general donations from the community.

"We are still receiving donations as we speak, and we're hoping to reach our goal by the end of the year," said LifeStyles executive director Sandy Washington in the release.

The Charles County Homeless and Emergency Shelter Committee is made up of government and nonprofit agency representatives and individuals.

In addition, more than 60 churches, agencies and individuals provide support to the Safe Nights program.

"The faith-based community has taken the challenges and stepped up to the plate to address homelessness in Charles County," said Dottie Harper, CEO of the United Way of Charles County.

Del. Murray D. Levy (D-Charles) and Del. Peter F. Murphy (D-Charles); Charles County Commissioners Reuben B. Collins II (D) and Samuel N. Graves Jr. (D); La Plata Council member Paddy Muddy; Director of the Charles County Department of Social Services Rebecca Bridgett; and a host of community leaders and school groups attended the walk this year.

The writer is the assistant to the executive director of LifeStyles.