At the first-ever "HomeWalk" in Los Angeles Nov. 17, politicians talked, then nearly 4,000 people marched - raising money and awareness to end homelessness in Greater Los Angeles, which has the largest concentration of homeless men, women and children in the nation.
"More than 40,000 homeless in the City of Los Angeles, nearly 90,000 in the county," Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa declared from a rock concert-sized stage in Exposition Park. "Think about that! Think about the number of people who sleep on the streets. Think about the children, the families who live on the streets without shelter. Think about the fact that in L.A. Unified today there are more homeless kids than in any school district in the United States of America.
"So today those of us who have been blessed, who have shelter, who have food on the table, during this Thanksgiving season we're going to celebrate our blessings by shedding a light on the dark streets of Los Angeles. Shedding a light on the need for the city, the state, the federal government to come together to do something for the homeless - to provide them with housing."
Mark Ridley-Thomas, sounding more like a Pentecostal preacher than a California senator, led the crowd in a call-and-answer chant: "Today is the first day . . . that we walk towards the last day . . . of homelessness in Los Angeles."
Los Angeles City Councilperson Jan Perry said she was proud to represent the downtown skid row community, a 50-block area home to almost 40 percent of the city's and county's homeless population.
"We are a recovery community, and we cannot leave our brothers and our sisters to live in the streets," she stated. "So as you walk today, take the message back to your own communities in the County of Los Angeles, and say, 'It is OK to build permanent supportive housing with support services on-site for people in our communities.'
"I don't care if you live in Pomona, Santa Clarita or Culver City. It doesn't matter where you live. Everybody has homeless people in their neighborhood, and we need to lift them up. So don't just talk about it. Let's do something about it."
USC Trek
After the public servants finally stopped talking last Saturday morning, marchers began their 5K trek out of the park, across Exposition Boulevard and through the University of Southern California's stately brick-and-stone campus. There were more than 300 teams, sponsored by AIG SunAmerica, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, The California Endowment, Los Angeles Kings, Macy's, NBC Universal, Price Waterhouse Coopers, the City and County of Los Angeles, plus other public and private entities and foundations, along with individuals who had paid $25 to participate ($10 for children 8-to-15).
Most wore white, yellow, navy blue or red T-shirts embossed with "Walk to Defeat Homelessness." Some groups carried banners saying "Hollywood Walks for the Homeless" and other antipoverty slogans. Fathers carried young children on their shoulders. Mothers, in running shoes, pushed strollers. Teens locked arms and sang.
Along the way was a series of stunning visual and audio towers, displaying blown-up photos of homeless individuals and families, and broadcasting their personal stories. While most walkers seemed to barely notice the dramatic displays, others stopped to study the intense portraits and hear about the plight of the people displayed.
A contingent of 40 Loyola Marymount University students walked toward the front of the march. For Morgan Kramam, a freshman accounting major, participating in the homeless happening was part of her confirmation program at the Westchester Catholic college.
"We're supporting where we live and the people in our community," she said.
Walking nearby, Lisa Sequerra, who belonged to the confirmation core leadership team, nodded. "We're just raising awareness about the homeless," the Orange County freshman said. "We'll go back and tell everybody what we did today, and then people will start to know about it."
Further back in the march, which snaked its way between the Natural History Museum and California Science Center, Shelby Coleman walked with her mother and seven-year-old daughter. Knowing six people who had fallen into homelessness - including a niece and her husband, both of whom worked - the issue was personal for the three-generation family.
"We're doing OK, and we have our homes; but we're watching our family members and friends drop," the 49-year-old woman reported. "It's serious and it's not going away. The homeless numbers that they're citing, I don't believe at all. They're much worse. Because nobody's counting my niece."
'My faith matters'
One of the last persons to finish HomeWalk was wheelchair-bound Vickie Bangle. She and other members of Hollywood Presbyterian Church arrived back in front the Coliseum at 10:19 a.m. Many, including Coleman, were holding up little signs proclaiming, "My faith matters."
"I believe in God, and I believe we're children of God," the 60-year-old woman said. "So, therefore, we're all brothers and sisters. And our brothers and sisters are sleeping on the streets and without food.
"I don't sit down to a meal or don't get into my bed without thinking that there are people who don't have this," she added. "And they are my brothers and sisters. So I'm hoping just to bring awareness to other people that we need to help. Each one needs to take somebody and help someone."
Los Angeles' first homeless walk was planned and organized by United Way of Greater Los Angeles in collaboration with the Fannie Mae Foundation's Help the Homeless Program and PATH (People Assisting the Homeless). Simultaneously, seven other walkathons to benefit the homeless took place in Washington, D.C., Denver, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte and Boston. L.A.'s event generating more than $500,000 in sponsorships.
Elise Buik, president and CEO of the local United Way, told The Tidings when she and others began planning HomeWalk a year ago they weren't at all sure what the response would be. Putting on a walkathon for the homeless, she pointed out, did not have the heart-tugging appeal of a similar event for cancer or AIDS victims.
"This is amazing for a first-time effort," she said. "Obviously, this is very important symbolically. But it's also an educational happening, dispelling a lot of the myths and misperceptions about homelessness. Forty percent of the homeless are women and children.
"We want to mobilize folks to support housing efforts in their own neighborhoods," Buik stressed. "So today is really about building public will, and awareness, around this issue."
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